by Jordan Baker
"Ariana," Borrican yelled as he fended off another Darga. "We have to get you to safety."
"We have to hold them here until everyone is on the ships," she said.
"We can't hold them here," Borrican said. "You can't hold them here."
Borrican felt her anger that he would question her ability to fight, and he sent back what he meant through the bond between them but he could tell that she was not listening.
"Zachary," Borrican yelled to the mage. "Take the princess and get on board that ship. There are many more of these creatures coming."
"Right," Zachary said, and with what was left of his arm, he grabbed Ariana by the waist, threw her over his shoulder, then ran toward the ship.
"Put me down!" Ariana yelled, her fire blazing around her.
"I owed Gregor more than a few favors, and since he isn't around to collect, I'll consider this as being one of them," Zachary said as he dashed through the water.
Borrican hacked at a Darga that tried to grab Ariana from Zachary's shoulder, and another one almost scrambled over the body of the first one, then leapt toward them. Borrican shoved the first Darga aside and jumped out of the water and caught the other Darga, smashing the creature down with a splash. Borrican felt himself pushed underneath, and he looked up through the murky water and saw a Darga standing above him with a sword, and he shoved his own blade upward and drove its tip right through the creature, then he rolled out from underneath its foot as acid blood sprayed into the water. Borrican leapt to his feet and saw the water around Zachary splash in all directions with a loud crack and the impact of his magic sent the mage upward through the air, and he landed on the rail of the ship and let Ariana down onto the deck.
"I did not ask for your help," Ariana said, crossly.
"Well your Kandaran prince did, and I think he has the right of it," Zachary said. "You're a blasted fool, putting your own allies at risk, letting yourself get surrounded like that. Don't be so selfish, lass."
"Selfish?" Ariana was furious. "I was trying to protect my people."
"Their job is to protect you, and don't you forget it," Zachary told her. "If you put yourself in danger then you're putting them in danger, do you understand?"
"I can take care of myself," Ariana said, feeling as though she had just been scolded by a parent, and it was both strange and upsetting that the mage might be the closest thing to a father she had in this world.
"I don't doubt that," Zachary replied, his tone softening. "I should point out that you're standing on a ship made of dry wood and rope, so you might think about putting those flames of yours away."
Ariana noticed the smell of burning wood and she quickly released her power. The deck of the ship around her was already smoldering, and if it were not still wet from the rain earlier, she realized that it could easily have caught fire.
"You are right," Ariana said with a frown. "Perhaps I should be more careful."
"It is very difficult for me to look at you," Zachary said, his expression pained for a moment, then he shook his head and looked down at the shore. "Since that there isn't an entire kingdom that cares if I live or die, with your permission, I will go and help rid the world of a few lizards, and try to protect your people on your behalf."
"Yes, thank you," Ariana said, and Zachary smiled at her with a sigh, then he leapt from the rail. She watched him land heavily in the water, the impact moving a circle of water around him to the dry bottom, then she saw him begin blasting a path back through the Darga that had surrounded Keira, Margo, Borrican, Storm, Kaz and Raz. Ariana knew he was right, that even though she was powerful, she had other responsibilities, and while her position made her valuable, it also made her vulnerable, and more importantly, it could also make those around her vulnerable. From the rail of the ship, she could see just how many Darga there were, and how like a swarm of insects they were, but when Zachary shot his fire through them, in the haze of the fog, she saw something else. What looked like a group of soldiers was driving back the tide of Darga, and she was amazed at how fiercely they fought, hacking away at the more powerful lizard creatures and cutting them down. More and more soldiers came into view and, among them she also saw the familiar armor of the elves, taking down even more of the Darga. Suddenly, the lizard men turned and fled into the night and, as quickly as it had begun, the battle ended.
A cheer erupted from the soldiers and the sailors on the ships, many of whom had their hands to weapons and had looked like they would join the fray, but Ariana noticed that none of the soldiers on the ground cheered at their victory, at having driven off the Darga. Instead, they formed into ordered ranks and set about restoring order in the boarding of the ships. Borrican leapt up onto the netting on the side of the ship and pulled himself up over the rail where Ariana stood.
"Quenta and his elven warriors pursue the Darga," he said. "I think a hundred elves should set a good number of the foul creatures running."
"What of the other soldiers?" Ariana asked. "Have they been freed from Calexis' magic?"
"So it seems, and it appears they are rather serious about it," Borrican replied as the first of them began boarding the ships."
"Why do Berant's soldiers have their hands dyed red?" she asked him.
"That I do not know," he said. "But from the slow burning anger I can feel coming from most of them, I would rather not ask.
"I am sorry for not heeding your warning, Borrican," Ariana said.
"It is fine," he said, and she felt a sense of worry and warmth through the bond they shared. "I just want us all to make it through this in one piece."
"I know," she said, and he smiled at her, then he turned and looked down at the last of the soldiers who were climbing up onto the ship and spotted Margo and Keira on their way up the rope netting.
"Margo might know what the red hand is about," he said, as he helped her onto the ship. "Glad you made it back to us."
"Just in time, it seems," she said as Borrican reached out a hand and helped Keira aboard. "The stones worked and they have all been set free, but it is just like the people at Kandara. They all remember everything that happened to them, and all the things they did."
"Do you know why their hands are red?" Borrican asked.
"It is something they chose on the way here," Margo said. "It represents the blood on their hands for the things they did."
"But those things aren't their fault," Ariana said.
"Maybe not, but it was their hands that carried out the deeds, and none of them will ever forget that," Margo said. "I asked Berant about it, and he feels the same. What they want now is to kill Calexis and take back their kingdom."
"I won't question that," Ariana said. "Nor will I question how they deal with what they suffered." She turned to Borrican. "I hope once this is over, we can somehow heal things between the people of Kandara and Maramyr."
"That is a far better battle, one I would rather be fighting," he said as the ship began to move.
"Dare I ask how an entire ship can move without a sail?" Margo asked.
"When the gods walk among us, many things become possible," Ariana said.
*****
Brian led the group along the passageway and carefully opened the secret door that led to the deep stone basement beneath the Academy, then he checked to see if there were any of Calexis' guards about. All was quiet, but unlike the tunnels, which the voices of the keepers had lit at Kroma's request, the room was almost completely dark, so the god used a little of his power to make the gemstones on Brian's armor radiate a faint light that was just bright enough for everyone to see the room, the tall stairway and the door at the top. Once they were sure they knew the layout of the room, Brian left them there with instructions to keep an ear to the door, and once fighting broke out in the city, they were to get as many of the people out of the city into the tunnels as possible, even if they had to capture them, for they were likely under the power of some magic.
Brian brought another group down a different tunnel t
o the cellar of the inn he had visited once, and left them there with similar instructions, then he brought Fergus and the rest of the Bordermen down another tunnel that led toward the palace. They were a small group, the ones the voices had accepted and who had been willing to take the oath to defend the keep, which had made it possible for them to enter the chamber that stored jeweled armor and weapons like those that Brian wore and carried, weapons and armor that he now understood had been made in a different age, very long ago.
"Kroma," Brian said, in his thoughts as he led the others to the palace.
"Yes, Brian?" the god rumbled in his head.
"If the purpose of the godswords is to take the power of another god, then why are there so many of these weapons?"
"I would think that the answer to that would be obvious," Kroma said.
"But there are only five gods, well four now that Stroma has been killed," Brian said. "There were two elder gods, Stroma and Ayra, and you said they were like your parents."
"In a way, yes," Kroma said.
"So you and Kenra, and the goddess Mara, are younger gods."
"Yes, we are younger than Stroma and Ayra. They are from the time before."
"And the godswords are also from the time before?"
"They are."
"What about the voices, the keepers?" Brian asked, then he answered his own question. "They must be as well, since they guarded that room of godswords and armor. And these tunnels and passageways must be from then also, and the old stonework at White Falls that gives me strength. These things must all be ancient."
"That is true. They are all very ancient."
"You call it the time before," Brian said. "Before what?"
Brian could feel Kroma's reluctance, that it was something about which he did not want to speak.
"There was a lesson learned, long ago, about the truth of fire," Kroma said. "It is the truth about the darkness, this power that is called the shadow, that it can only be destroyed by truefire, which is a power that can be as dangerous as the shadow itself."
"How can truefire be as dangerous as the shadow?" Brian asked. "Isn't this god Kenra using the power of the shadow to corrupt the land, to enslave people and to cause all of these problems? If truefire can stop the shadow and destroy it, then isn't that good?"
"If not for the truth that the last time truefire was used to destroy the shadow, the fire itself nearly destroyed the world," Kroma said. "That is the truth of fire, Brian. It is the nature of what is called truefire, a flame so powerful that if it is truly unleashed, it can create an inferno no less destructive than the shadow."
"But do the dragons not have the power of truefire?" Brian asked. "You can use its power as well. I have seen it and felt it. You used truefire to purify the flows in the dragon lands, and to burn away the poison of the shadow."
"Truefire also appears to be the power that forged the godswords," Kroma said. "Yes, it is a useful power, when focused in specific ways, for single purposes, but one does not fight the shadow in such a singular way, for its nature is to spread like a weed in a field, or the way that rotting mold spreads across food that is left on the plate. The shadow seeks the power or life and consumes it. If the things Lady Ehlena has said is true about your friend, Aaron, it would seem that he understands this, and that may be why he has drawn Kenra's focus, to keep the shadow from spreading further, by tempting it with his power."
"And then what?" Brian asked. "Will he be able to destroy it?"
"We can only hope," Kroma replied. "For if he cannot, then it will consume him, and he will become one with it. Then it will fall to us to destroy the shadow."
"And Aaron along with it," Brian added.
"Yes," Kroma said. "And it will be that much more difficult, for I understand that he has great power. If Kenra lays claim to such power, it will only make the dark god and the power of the shadow that much stronger."
"Then why do we not attack Kenra?" Brian asked. "If we kill Calexis and destroy the god within her, then the shadow will have no life to consume, and the dark magic will fade."
"If it were that simple, we could march up to the palace right now and do exactly that, but even with a godsword, Kenra is not so easy to destroy, nor is the power of the shadow so simple, for the power it would take to destroy the shadow, the way things are now, would surely kill everyone in the city."
"Tell me, Kroma, what is the shadow?" Brian asked.
"It is an ancient power, a kind of magic that consumes other magic, and the essence of life itself."
"And the shadow is older than Kenra," Brian said.
"Yes, and Kenra has foolishly embraced that darkness in his quest for power and he will stop at nothing to have his revenge."
"Why do I get the feeling that there is a whole lot you aren't telling me?"
"Because there is much that I am not telling you," Kroma said. "There are many things with which I would not want to burden you, Brian. However, I will say that Kenra has always taken a twisted view things, ever convinced that he is the victim of some trick to weaken him or plot to destroy him, and he has taken that belief and convinced himself that he is right to deceive and destroy others."
"Why would he think that? There must be some reason."
"Brian, you are thinking of Kenra as though he were simply a person, but he is a god, and matters between the gods are far more complicated than you might think. We did nothing to offend Kenra, yet he took offense. And when the other gods tried to help him, he took even greater offense."
"It just does not make sense," Brian said. "I feel as though there must have been something that made him be so angry and distrustful."
"I do not know why he thought it before, for the other gods always offered patience and understanding to Kenra, but he was convinced that we were his enemies, and now, that has become a self-fulfilling truth. He forced our hand, but even then what we did was for his own good."
"What did you do?" Brian asked.
"We tried to seal Kenra away from this world, in a place where he would not be harmed, nor could he do any harm. Even though the other gods agreed to leave the world as well, in Kenra's twisted way of seeing things, he still believed it to be a lie and, as you can now see, we did not entirely succeed."
"What is his purpose?" Brian asked. "What does he want?"
"Kenra seeks power," Kroma said. "He seeks to enslave and control the world. That much has never been more clear."
"Why?" Brian could not help but ask. "What good does that do?"
"I do not know," Kroma told him. "Perhaps it satisfies his lust for power. I have seen many of Kenra's thoughts and tried to understand my brother but his actions in the world are nonsensical to me. The more I consider it, the more I believe his mind was lost long ago."
"Maybe, but the dark god has planned so many things, organizing the priesthood, tricking Cerric and Calexis, and all kinds of other things, it does not seem that he has lost his mind," Brian said.
"Then perhaps he is simply evil," Kroma said. "It is something that must be considered, and perhaps that is why Stroma eventually chose to break his oath and intended to destroy him."
"What oath was that?"
"The gods agreed long ago, that no matter what happened, no matter how strongly we might disagree with one another, that we would not fight each other directly, and that one god would never seek to destroy another," Kroma said.
"Is that why the godswords were hidden away?"
"In a word, yes, but like Kenra they have found their way back into the world, though perhaps much of that is his doing as well."
"Why not just destroy the godswords?" Brian asked.
"I do not know, for they were hidden away before I came to be," Kroma told him. "As you can see, once forged, the weapons are difficult to destroy, even with truefire, which destroys all other things. Strangely, Lexi's fire was able to damage the great axe that was wielded by her brother, and once belonged to the duke of Kandara. Perhaps, with her power, it might be possible to
remove such weapons from the world, or perhaps the watcher people might have discovered a way, but we do not know how many godswords exist, so there could always be others that might surface over time."
"The godswords were made for the gods," Brian said. "There are many godswords."
"Yes," Kroma replied, his tone almost a question, for he knew what Brian had been thinking.
"There were once many gods, weren't there?"
"In an earlier age, before the world was destroyed, there were many gods."
"And that is the reason for the oath between you and the other four?"
"Precisely."
"But it seems that Kenra has broken that oath," Brian said.
"He would claim otherwise," Kroma said. "He would claim that he was attacked by the others, that we were the ones who broke the oath."
"But he is lying," Brian said, though he was not quite sure.
"It is the way he sees it, an interpretation," Kroma said.
"That doesn't help," Brian told him.
"It is why I did not want to burden you with the problems of the gods," he said. "Our relationships have sometimes been difficult."
"What about the other gods, from before?" Brian asked, mostly out of curiosity.
"That is a story that I do not truly know. The Lady, Ayra is now the only who remains from that time, so it would be her story to tell, and neither she nor Stroma wished to speak of such things."
"Perhaps we should ask her," Brian said.
"First, let us deal with Kenra, and this Calexis," Kroma said.
"Right," Brian said, though he still had questions about the shadow, and the godswords as well, but they had arrived at the end of the tunnel that led to the palace. "One thing at a time."