“There is no need to sew clothing for me,” Blakstar objected, “mine is all self-renewing.”
“But the huge amounts of food you eat every day is not,” Elanor added hotly. “Males are all alike, whether awemi,” she went on, looking daggers at Tevvy, who replied with a look of feigned innocence, “or wethi,” she said looking at the others, Klaybear surprised by her vehemence, “you all believe that food miraculously appears on the table whenever you hunger without considering where it comes from or how much it costs. On the contrary, we are going to take as much of this as you can carry to our safe place, and we’ll probably come back for more after that, and maybe even more after that, depending on how much you big oafs carry!” She stood with her hands on her hips, eyes flashing.
Blakstar opened his mouth to protest, but took one look at her and snapped his mouth closed. In spite of his anger, he smiled. “And tell me, Tevvy,” he said, looking at the awemi who beamed at Elanor, “you sure you want to marry that miniature Klare, after you have seen what Klaybear has been through?”
In answer, Tevvy threw his arms around Elanor and kissed her fondly on the cheek.
Elanor turned her head toward him slightly. “Do not think to soften me up, Telvor!”
But Elanor never finished what she intended to say, for as she spoke, Rokwolf slung the bow and quiver over his shoulder then buckled on the sheath for his sword and picked it up again; Blakstar dropped the helmet onto Rokwolf’s head, and Klaybear gasped, as Rokwolf nearly disappeared from view: his entire suit of armor had altered its appearance, blending almost perfectly into their surroundings. When this happened, Klaybear was hurled again into the mad gyre of his vision.
Darkness cavern flaming flying laughter wolfman boldly walking flaming laughter red aperu laughing wolfman slaying flaming hair green fire purgle laughing wolfman leaping bony cage chest exploding sword laughing vacant staring wolfman slaying purgle laughing flying shard exploding slaying aperu red purgle imploding bony cage laughter vacant staring sword smoking flaming wolfman green exploding flaming laughter boldly walking wolfman laughter flaming cavern darkness silence. . . .
Klaybear shook himself and saw the others staring down at him; he lay prostrate on a pile of shiny gold and silver coins in front of the crystal pedestal. He avoided looking at his twin.
“Another vision?” Thal asked.
Klaybear nodded. “I think it was part of the same,” he noted, sitting up. “Did you do something?”
Thal nodded. “Same as before,” he replied, “cut off its power source.” He reached out and helped Klaybear to his feet.
“I think you, Blakstar, and Rokwolf should go back to the camp on the edge of the Mariskal,” Klaybear said, “to collect our horses. We’ll contact Klare and move this treasure.”
Thal nodded. “I think we should go to my parents . . . ,” Thal began, then changed what he had said, “I mean, my tower. My parents had one of the best libraries outside of Melbarth, and I’m certain they collected the works with us in mind. I feel like we have been running forward blind, and I need to use the geuskeldu in the tower.”
Klaybear nodded. “I’ll contact you when we have finished here,” he said, “which, knowing Klare, could take several days.” He grinned, then gripped each of their forearms, as did Tevvy.
Elanor made all three kneel so that she could embrace them each. “Stay out of trouble,” she exhorted them, “or we’ll be forced to rescue you,” she finished with a grin. “And here,” she forced a bag into Thal’s hand, “you may need this.” The bag was heavy and clinked.
Blakstar shook his head but smiled, taking out his sword and opening an archway; he followed Rokwolf and Thal through, lifting will-giver and closing the archway behind him.
“My lord,” Xythrax said in a hollow voice, bowing to Gar; the sounds of dry bones clinking together accompanied his action.
“Do not simper to me, Xythrax,” Gar, with his back to Xythrax, said. “I know your mind, and your feigned obeisance is as empty as you are.” Gar was tall, handsome, with long, wavy brown hair, wearing robes of the same color; he turned toward Xythrax; his face was unreadable, and the eyes might have been blue, but their color kept shifting, as if to match the shifting mood of the person who looked out from them. “Why have you come?”
Xythrax inclined his head slightly. “I came as you ordered, my lord,” Xythrax replied, trying desperately to hide his anger and derision.
Gar looked at him for a moment; his eyes settled on steel gray. “And?” he asked without further explanation.
“It worked, my lord,” Xythrax replied, “I have left her with the breeders.”
A smile grew slowly across Gar’s face, and the eyes turned first blue, then bright red. “Excellent! The plan proceeds apace,” he added, and then his eyes darkened to a deep shade of violet. “And did they take care of her eyes?”
“Yes, my lord,” Xythrax answered, “your ponkolum were brutally efficient, but I fear they may have gone too far; they may have created a barrier between her and . . . ,” Xythrax tried to continue, but he was cut-off.
“Spare me your fears,” Gar snapped, his eyes going black, “had it not been for your fears the chosen would already be dead.” He watched Xythrax for a moment, and Xythrax knew his master could see his mental struggle, could feel his hatred and fear for his master; Gar smiled and turned away.
Xythrax watched Gar turn away, and he let both hatred and fear die inside his mind, knowing both had served their purpose. He knew he had to turn the conversation to other matters. “It is unfortunate, my lord, that none of your ponkolum survived their encounter with the chosen,” Xythrax said casually, “since I realize your supply of these most faithful of your servants is rapidly dwindling.”
“Yes, unfortunate,” Gar replied without turning, which was not the expected response, “how did they manage to escape the trap this time?” he asked, still not turning to face Xythrax.
“It appears that Kalamar managed to convey more to his apprentice than we had anticipated,” Xythrax noted. “The ponkolum and their puri contingent were waiting for the chosen in the hallway as was planned. When they arrived from below, and Motodu’s firestorm went off, the kailu protected them, as anticipated, but then out of the conflagration flew a fist-sized globe of pure Void, instantly freezing and shattering all your minions waiting to take them,” Xythrax finished in a hushed voice, and he could not keep the note of awe out of his report.
Gar still did not turn. “You are impressed, Xythrax,” Gar noted, “by these children,” he added, voice dripping derision. “You are a greater fool than Motodu was, and a greater coward than any I have ever had the misfortune to meet.” He turned to face Xythrax at this point, his eyes bright red and his smile wide and fiendish. He now held a wicked-looking, curved, midnight-black dagger, with which he idly toyed. “Tell me, my fool, why I should not try this,” he held up the dagger so that it came between their faces, “for the first time, on you?”
Xythrax laughed, a sound like dry bones knocking together in a cloth bag. “My lord surely knows,” Xythrax continued to laugh, “that stabbing me with such a weapon would be pointless, since I keep my life elsewhere.”
Gar’s grin frightened Xythrax, who took an involuntary step backward; Gar laughed. “Do not tempt me, Xythrax!” Gar exclaimed. “This dagger will utterly slay even me,” Gar declared, and, as if reading Xythrax’s thoughts, he added, “if anyone but me touches it, that person will be instantly slain,” he finished, giving Xythrax another evil grin. “A demonstration is in order, I think.” Gar snapped the fingers of his free hand. A pair of ponkolum dragged in a struggling captive, who was surrounded by an aura of golden light. Xythrax had to shade his eyes as the captive’s aura grew brighter the closer he came to Gar.
The Great Lord waved his hand, and a small, black-stone pedestal appeared in front of him; he laid the dagger carefully, lovingly, upon the pedestal. Gar nodded to his servants, who released the captive on the side of the pedestal opposite Ga
r, who smiled down at the captive.
The prisoner, filthy, bruised, and pale, the rags he wore hanging loosely upon his emaciated frame, looked up at Gar in total defiance.
“Now is your chance, kortexi,” Gar said, “your opportunity to fulfill your life’s ambition, and the purpose of your order,” Gar continued, filling each word with derision. “I am weaponless, and there is a weapon in front of you; take it and kill me.” The ponkolum started to move forward, but Gar stopped them with a menacing glare.
The captive kortexi looked around, then looked back at Gar; his eyes narrowed; he got slowly, painfully to his feet, but he did not take the dagger.
This action made Gar smile. “You see, a craven,” Gar mocked, “they are all talk and no action; nothing but base cowards who flee at the first sign of danger.”
The kortexi smiled up at Gar. “Your words are empty,” he croaked, “meant only to trick me into doing something rash; I refuse to play your silly game,” he finished, and turned his back on the Lord of Evil, smiling all the while.
His action, even more then his words, sent Gar into a rage; his eyes turned bright red, and he stepped and reached forward and grabbed the captive kortexi by the neck, turning him back to face the pedestal. “When I give an order,” Gar shouted, causing the ground beneath them to shake and pitch violently, “I will have obedience! Take the dagger!” Gar howled in rage, causing Xythrax and the ponkolum to cower in spite of trying to keep their feet on the pitching and heaving floor.
The kortexi smiled up at Gar, completely unaffected by his tirade. “I will not,” the captive replied with defiance.
Gar roared with anger; the floor heaved more violently, hurling the others from their feet; flakes of stone began to fall from the darkness overhead. Xythrax struggled to regain his feet while raising a shield to protect himself.
Gar shouted again. “I SAID TAKE THE DAGGER!” Gar roared, grabbing the captive’s arm and forcing his hand onto the handle of the dagger, which, by some miracle, still lay on the pedestal unmoved by Gar’s fury. The moment the kortexi’s hand touched the black dagger, all motion ceased; the captive let out a scream of agony that trailed away slowly into silence. Gar released him and let his body, now limp, slump onto the floor. Gar’s eyes were again sparkling blue.
“Do you still want to take this dagger?” Gar asked in a soft voice, belying his anger of moments before.
Xythrax did not respond at once, but instead moved slowly closer to the pedestal to look at the dagger more closely, but Gar picked up the black dagger and hid it back inside his robes. Xythrax stopped. “My lord,” he began, “why would you create such a weapon, a weapon that can destroy you?” he finished, asking what was the obvious question.
Again, Gar smiled in a way that frightened Xythrax. “Because, Xythrax,” Gar replied, “the one I want to kill utterly is just like me; he is a great meddler, and has been a thorn in my side since the beginning of time,” and the dagger appeared again in Gar’s hand. “This dagger will utterly destroy my brother.”
The End of The Morgle Unmasked: Book 3 of The Redemption; the story continues in The Rod of Melbarth: Book 4 of The Redemption.
Glossary
*Words are listed in their singular form, followed by plural endings, feminine (if applicable) singular and plural endings; -i endings are masculine and -u endings are neuter. The ‘g’ in ancient is always hard, as in the word ‘go’; it never becomes soft (the ‘j’ sound), regardless of the vowel (‘e’ or ‘i’) that follows; further, the vowel combinations ‘ai’ or ‘ay’ sound like the ‘y’ in ‘sky.’
Races
awemi, -em, -a, -am (ah-WAYM-ee, -ehm, -ah, -ahm) sentient creatures created from the elements of earth and air, three to four feet in height, thick soled feet, with thick, curly hair growing on the tops of their feet and backs of their hands.
awi, -em (AH-wee, -ehm) sentient creatures of the realm of air, created from the element of air; this category includes uncorrupted megatrem, metal aperum, ekludem, and all uncorrupted birds.
themi, -em, -a, -am (THAY-mee, -ehm, -ah, -ahm) sentient creatures created from the element of earth, under three feet tall, broad shouldered, large hands that can dig through solid rock as if it were sand; it is believed that this race is in thrall to Gar, if any still exist.
vedi, -em, -a, -am (VAYD-ee, -ehm-ah, -ahm) sentient creatures created from the elements of water and air, over eight feet tall, thin and lithe, living deep in the forests in the tops of huge trees; this race is ruled by a council of seers and shuns all others.
wedori, -em, -a, -am (way-DOOR-ee, -ehm, -ah, -ahm) sentient creatures created from the element of water, living in the oceans, six to twelve feet in height, hands and feet elongated and webbed, heads are bulbous, large, and gilled, unable to survive outside the water. Legend says that there are two varieties: those dwelling in the salt-water oceans, and those living in freshwater lakes, called the pludorem; however, none of the latter have ever been found, and the only evidence of their existence is in the pleugle, who are corruptions of this freshwater type.
wethi, -em, -a, -am (WETH-ee, WEETH-em, WEETH-ah, WEETH-ahm) sentient creatures created from elements of earth and water, most numerous of all the races, five to six feet in height, closest to contemporary humans.
Corruptions
*The following races were made by Gar in the beginning, by taking offspring of the previously described races and altering their fundamental natures through the addition of the elements of fire or ice.
aperu, -um (AH-pay-roo, -room) these flying reptiles are not strictly corruptions, since those who were created in the beginning, formed by the addition of precious metals to the element of air, are loyal to the One. It is believed that Gar, before he and his followers were driven out of the presence of the One, helped to create the original pair of aperum, a male and female based on platinum; at the same time and with the help of Guengle, they created a male blue and a female red, each infused with powerful spirits of frost and fire, respectively. From the offspring of this latter pair and with the introduction of other elements beyond fire and ice, Gar and Guengle created the colored aperum, all of which are evil (color-element-breath): orange-earth-acid, green-water-steam, yellow-air-poison gas, red-fire-fire, blue-ice-frost; three others are believed to exist, but this is only a legend drawn from the fact that there are three other elements: time, light, and Void–purple, white, and black, respectively; it is possible that these final three are the sources of their respective elements, such that these aperum do not actually exist, but are the symbolic representations of these elements. Of the metal aperum–copper, iron, silver, gold, and platinum–all have fire breath, many times more powerful than the red, being creations of fire and air with the addition of a metal.
gheli, -em, -a, -am (gayll-ee, -ehm, -ah, -ahm) Gar created these small and numerous creatures from themen to which he applied the element of ice, giving their skin a bluish hue; around three feet tall, although there are reports of some as tall as four feet, able dig through stone with the same ease as a fish moves through water, they do all the manual labor and fill the lowest ranks of Gar’s armies.
krugle (KROO-gul) these giant creatures average eighteen feet in height, bearded, wielding huge double-bladed axes, have frosty white skin, and icy, blue blood; none know how Gar created these creatures; it is believed that they were created from the element of ice alone.
megatri, -em (MAYG-uh-tree, -ehm) these giant creatures average twenty-four feet in height, hairless, wielding huge black-iron swords and hammers, have ruddy skin, and fiery red blood; like the krugle, it is believed they were created from the element of fire alone; they are accomplished smiths, making all the weapons and armor used by Gar’s armies.
morgle (MOR-gul) these creatures are corruptions of the wedorem through the application of the element of ice; they, unlike the wedorem, can live in or out of the water; they are the most powerful mentalics, increasing in power by consuming the brains of other creatures; they have large, bulbou
s heads with tentacles covering their mouths used to hold the head of a creature, punch a small hole in the victim’s skull, and consume the victim’s brain and mental power; a touch from their two-fingered hands paralyzes the victim; they are accomplished users of the elements, rivaling the greatest maghem who have ever lived.
nekerpu, -um (nay-KAIR-poo, -poom) these are animated corpses, created from the dead bodies of any sentient creature through the application of both elements of fire and ice, raised from their graves and controlled by a purgle; nekerpum consume live flesh, going into a frenzy on the battlefield at their first taste of blood and tearing their enemies apart; the only way to destroy them is to disrupt the purgle who controls them.
ponkolu, -um, -a, -am (pohn-KO-loo, -oom, -ah, -ahm) the most powerful and most feared of all of Gar’s corruptions; it is believed they were created from puri-wethi crossbreeding with additional applications of the elements earth and fire; fanged and horned, around eight feet in height, with bat-like wings that enable them to fly only in the fifth dimension, rumepant; proficient in both mentalics and teka, they have an appetite for wethem, raping any who fall into their hands.
prusai (PROO-sy) legend says that these corruptions of the awemem by the application of ice did not survive; the awemem say that it was because of the strength of their original forebears, who died rather than submit to Gar; whether this belief is true, none now know except for Gar, who is unlikely to confirm this belief, if true.
purgle (PUR-gul) these are black maghem and red kailum who have sacrificed all to gain immortality by placing their essences into some object then killing their bodies in a ritual that brings them back to life without flesh and blood; they retain all the powers they had in life, with the added ability to raise and control nekerpum.
puri, -em, -a, -am (POO-ree, -rehm, -rah, -rahm) corruptions of wethem by the application of the element, fire; nearly as numerous as the ghelem, horned and fanged, their skin color ranges whitish red of the breeders to a deep, reddish-copper.
The Redemption, Volume 1 Page 112