“His consort – Ka’en, the woman.” Elana looked at him reprovingly. “Did you not hear him when he spoke of her, my lord? His words were filled with love – love that is as yet unfulfilled and will remain so until he is reunited with her. His life is there, with her, unfinished, upon the shores of Ayden. He will never be content here without her.”
His brow furrowed more deeply yet, and his tone hardened. “What would you have me do? I cannot send him back – you know this.” He went silent for a moment and then, “The lives of humans are not long these days,” he suggested. “She will be along soon enough, and then his sorrow will vanish.”
Elana was quiet for a time, watching the distant reunion of friends. Then she slipped her arm through his and spoke.
“You are wise and powerful,” she said to him, “but I think you understand little of the younger children. And I know that you cannot return him to Ayden, but what seems a short time to you, my lord, will seem very long to him – and to her. Kressia suffered centuries of sorrow and loneliness as she waited for Joktan. Despite being here, in your house; in the end, her sadness seemed to her to be without end, as eternal as the shores of this world.”
Humber emitted an exhalation of frustration. “It is perhaps undeniably true that I do not understand the Maker’s younger children, nor was I given governance over them, even though my House is their destination once mortal life ends,” he admitted and shook his head. “So, then – what do I do with this man?”
When she did not reply, he looked at her and frowned. “As for Joktan remaining upon Ayden after his death, leaving his consort to wait and wonder – that was his choice, and his alone.”
She nodded. “Yes, for Joktan knew that once he journeyed here through the doorway, any chance of affecting events upon Ayden was lost. It is the reason Kelven also made the same choice.” She lifted one hand and indicated Aram, who was walking slowly toward them over the rolling prairie, accompanied by the horses. “And their choices led directly to that man’s choice – which led to the removal of the threat of war that has hung over us for millennia. We owe these men, and perhaps even Kelven, something for such great and willing sacrifice – of which we are the beneficiaries – do we not, my lord?”
Humber shook his head again. “Lord Kelven’s reward is the satisfaction that at long last judgment has been rendered upon his enemy. It is the same for Joktan; besides that – he is now home.” He looked back toward Aram. “As for that man? I would deny him nothing that is in my power to give. But if that what you claim as his greatest desire be true, then it is a thing not in my power to confer. It seems then that I can offer him nothing.”
He turned his gaze upon her. “Or would you have me meddle in affairs that are beyond my authority, and bring his woman through the doorway before her time?”
“No, my lord, of course I would not have you do so.” She slid her hand down his arm, taking his hand, and sighed. “He has done so much for us; I would that we could repay him in kind.”
“I have done what I could,” Humber replied. “I have sent word to the Maker to seek His instruction.”
“May His wisdom suffice to ease this man’s sorrow,” she said.
Humber did not respond to this but fell silent.
Out at the edge of the pavement, Aram bade farewell to the horses and turned toward the house. At that moment, the air crackled with energy to Humber’s left, causing the god to look that way.
Four Astra appeared.
“Greetings, Lord Humber,” the echoed voices of Terro and Firezza thundered softly.
“Greetings, my lords,” Humber replied. “Do you come from the Maker?”
“We do.”
Humber gazed at them narrowly. “He has heard my request for instruction concerning the man, Aram?”
“He has.” The Astra turned as one to watch Aram as he came toward them. “This man is to be returned to Ayden. The Maker desires that the inhabitants of that world benefit from his strength and knowledge in the years that lie before them.”
Humber stiffened at this and stared. “I do not know how to accomplish such a thing,” he protested. “No one has ever returned along the doorway.”
“The Maker designed the long doorway, and built it with His own hands,” the Astra reminded him. “He knows what must be done to return the man along the doorway and has instructed us. We will return him if he chooses, but the Maker has given to you the task of convincing him to go.”
“According to Elana, there is little doubt as to that which he will decide.” Humber watched them for a moment and then looked at his consort and smiled. “It seems as if you will get your wish – the man will be returned to his woman and to his earthly home.”
“He must return to the place of his death,” the Astra stated.
Humber pivoted to face them and looked at them in dismay. “But that place is far across the surface of that world from his home. Why must he return to that place? Why not return him to his home?”
“He cannot use the body he now inhabits when he returns to Ayden,” the echoed voices insisted. “The scattered essences of his former existence remain in the place where he was slain; it is only there that he may be renewed as a human.”
Elana moved up beside Humber. “Cannot you – or perhaps Ligurian and Tiberion – transport him from thence to his home once he is made whole again?” She inquired.
“The instruction from the Maker is clear,” the Astra replied. “We are to return him to that place and leave him. We are then to inform two persons of his return and our task is ended. The Maker desires that there be no further interference in the affairs of that world.”
“Will you at least provide him with a cloak, food and water, perhaps a weapon?”
“He may have only what can be reconstituted from that which he contained on his person at the time of his death,” the Astra replied. “We cannot do more.”
The Astra glanced once more at Aram and began to fade. “We will prepare to make the journey, should he so desire, Lord Humber. The Maker desires that it proceed at once. We leave him in your care.”
Humber nodded and turned to Elana. “If you will, let me speak to him alone.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
55.
Aram bade Florm and Ashal farewell where the grass ended and the stonework began. “I will return when Lord Humber has finished with me,” he told the horses.
As he walked toward the house, he thought he saw the Guardians appear for just a moment and then fade away, but it might have been a trick of the light; his eyes were still not adjusted to a sky with three suns. Besides, no doubt those creatures often came here.
He looked around. Despite the hollow emptiness of his heart he found himself curious about the configurations of the shores upon which death and destiny had cast him.
Whether it was because of the blended light of triple suns or another reason, the landscape that stretched away from him on all sides, though similar to earth in that there were forests and hills and the even greater heights of mountains as it went away to mysterious, haze-shrouded distances, it glowed with richness, both of color and of vibrancy, that seemed beyond his ability to fathom.
With no clear horizon line upon which the eye could fasten, he found it difficult to comprehend or even sense the vastness of the world upon whose surface he walked. It was as if the proud house of Humber – which was itself magnificent beyond comprehension – rested on a magical palette of such splendor that its true nature, and attendant reality, defied the powers of observation.
He knew that he ought to be grateful that, after all the travail, he had arrived in such a beautiful place, but the searing pang of loss in his heart would not subside.
The worst of it was that, by now, Ka’en would know that he had lied when he gave her his promise to return to her. That thought tore his gaze from the mysterious far reaches of Humber’s world and cast it to the ground, making his stride falter and slow. What would she think of him now? Would a sense of abandonment ma
r her grief and taint her memories of him?
And what would her life be like in the years left to her, raising their child alone?
He looked up again. Lord Humber stood alone on the broad veranda that surrounded his magnificent house, obviously awaiting him. Craving distraction, he quickened his pace and tried to put the thoughts of his former life aside for the moment.
He climbed the steps and inclined his head to the chief of the gods.
Humber waved one hand as he turned and moved along the veranda, away from the dais, repeating his words of earlier. “Walk with me.”
Humber was silent for several moments as they walked along together, and then he said without preamble, “The Maker desires that you return to Ayden – to the earth,” he stated quietly.
Aram froze.
Humber went on for a step and then stopped and turned to look at him. “Does this thought trouble you?” He asked.
Aram stared at him, violent hope surging in his breast. “My lord – you stated – if I heard you properly –”
Humber nodded solemnly. “The Maker desires that you return to your life upon the world of your birth.”
“Is that – possible, my lord?” Aram just managed to ask it, blurting it out; terrified of speaking the question, afraid that the response would belie that which he had heard. And he was equally terrified of giving in to believing the unbelievable promise that his greatest desire might be granted, in case it was all for naught. He did not want to state the contradiction but knew that he must. “I was told that the ‘long doorway’ as it is named, was a journey that could be taken in one direction only.”
“And so has it always been,” the god agreed. Then Humber smiled a slight smile. “The Maker, of course, may do as He likes – and He constructed the doorway by His own hand.”
The smile faded and the god lifted one hand and pointed back along the way they’d come. “His servants are here, now, preparing for your return along the passageway. All that is required is your consent to make the journey.”
Aram felt his knees buckle. “My lord … yes – I wish to return to earth if I may.”
Humber’s smile returned, wry and cool. “You do not approve of my house, Aram?”
Realizing, despite the shock of the previous few moments, that the statement was delivered in jest, Aram managed to smile in return. “It is beautiful, my lord, and you and your lady are most gracious. I hope to return here someday, but …,” He swallowed and looked away, out toward where he’d left Florm and Ashal. The horses had moved away and had gone from view.
He looked back at the god, who was studying him closely. Aram inclined his head in gratitude. “My life is there, and I am grateful for the opportunity to finish it.”
“You may offer your thanks to the Maker,” Humber replied. “For it is His doing.” He looked back out across the rolling prairie. “You should perhaps bid your friends farewell, but be quick, I beg you; the Astra are anxious to complete the process. Time moves differently upon Ayden than here; it will be the changing of the seasons by the time you return to that land.”
Aram immediately swung to his left, down off the veranda. He was running by the time he descended the steps and reached the paved area that led out toward the surrounding grasslands. “I will return shortly, my lord.”
Though astonished at the unlikely turn of events, Florm, Ashal, Durlrang, and Reuning all expressed their gladness at Aram’s altered fortune and bade him farewell until that time in the future when they would all once again be together.
“Give our love to our son – and your lady,” Ashal requested.
“I will, my lady. Farewell,” Aram told them all. He met every pair of eyes, and then embraced each neck as opposing emotions of elation and the sorrow of parting surged within him.
Stepping back, he gazed at them all for a long moment with moisture-laden eyes. “Until we meet again, my friends,” he said.
Then he turned away toward Humber’s house – and home.
The Guardians, along with Humber, Elana, Kelven, Joktan, and Kressia awaited him near the door that led back along the strange pathway through which he would fly from the heavens and back to the earth – and the bosom of the woman he loved.
Kressia embraced him. “I am happy for you – and her,” she said tearfully. “You are my son and so she is my daughter. Give her my love.”
“I will, my lady,” Aram promised.
Joktan gazed at him with serious eyes. “You will return to earth as more than a legend, my son; you will return as a cause for astonishment. What is most important is that you will be king.” He bowed slightly. “Rule well and wisely. I have nothing of wisdom to offer you – you have proven yourself without need of either counsel or guidance.” He smiled, though the expression contained a hint of sadness. “I will miss you, my son. I told you once that you were the best of us. Go now, and prove my words.”
He stepped forward and embraced Aram tightly. “The grace of the Maker go with you,” he said, and then he stepped back and smiled again. “I will miss our talks,” he admitted.
Aram gazed into his ancestor’s eyes and returned the smile. “It is a loss, my lord, which I will feel more keenly than you.”
Kelven reached out then and touched him on the arm. “I will visit your parents, Aram, and tell them of you.”
Aram looked at him in grateful surprise. “Thank you, my lord.”
The Astra moved toward the door, prompting Humber to say, “It is time to go.” The Eldest of the Brethren smiled. “When next you come to my house, perhaps you will stay longer.”
Aram inclined his head. “I will. Thank you, Lord Humber, for everything.”
He turned toward Ligurian and Tiberion, awaiting him by the door with Terro and Firezza. “Once again, my lords, you have come to my rescue. I am most grateful.”
Ligurian and Tiberion nodded silently and then Terro and Firezza spoke. “It will be very cold and there will be pain as you make this journey. At the journey’s end, when you again find yourself upon Ayden, you may suffer confusion. Like the pain, however, it will last but for a short time. As you have been told by Lord Humber, no provision can be made for you; we may restore only those things which you wore and bore with you when you entered the tower. We cannot restore that which you name the Sword of Heaven, nor the armor that accompanied its possession – both were destroyed in the accomplishment of their purpose. Do you understand?”
Aram nodded. “I understand.”
“And you wish to return to the earth?”
“I do.”
The Astra separated into pairs, Ligurian and Tiberion to one side of the door, and Terro and Firezza to the other.
The door opened.
The Astra spread their wings and enfolded him.
“Then let us go.”
Aram stepped through the door.
56.
There was an immediate sensation of tremendous, rapidly accelerating speed. The light faded quickly and the darkness grew until it overwhelmed his senses.
Sight failed, as did all perception of being.
Still, though, he could feel.
Cold.
And pain.
Both sensations increased to unbearable levels, as did the sensation of speed. And still he flew onward, faster, and faster.
On and on, until the cold and the pain overwhelmed him and the sensation of incomprehensible speed coiled his thoughts into tangled ribbons of confusion.
Then, abruptly, there was nothing.
Only a stillness.
The awful pain faded slowly away as his thoughts gradually untangled themselves and found cohesion. The pervasive cold, however, became something more than a sensation then. It was tangible, real, and he felt it with his being, in his fingers especially, and his toes inside his boots.
With his body.
He was corporeal once more.
Light found his senses and strengthened.
He opened his eyes.
And saw the dawning o
f a familiar yellow sun.
Its strengthening light seemed to be filtered through a haze.
He was lying on his back, upon a hard, rocky surface. Rolling over, he got stiffly to his hands and knees and gazed about him. He was near the middle of a vast wide valley that was surrounded on three sides by mountains and on the other side – which the position of the rising sun told him was south – by a ring of low hills, like the rim of a crater.
Understanding came, not gradually, but in a flash.
This was Manon’s valley, the seat of his power upon the earth. But where were the grim lord’s tower, and the city that had surrounded it? Though he gazed about him in all directions, there was nothing to be seen upon the valley floor. Everything that Manon had built was gone, apparently demolished in the cataclysmic event of his disembodiment.
Carefully, painfully, feeling every nerve of his reconstituted body, Aram got to his feet, stretched his limbs, and faced south. His boots stood upon slick, glassy rock, blasted to the appearance and consistency of lava by the heat of Manon’s dissolution. He looked around in all directions. The valley was empty and void. All that had once existed here was gone.
He pulled his cloak close against the coolness of the morning as understanding reached its fullness. To verify that understanding, he looked once more at the position of the rising sun, which his familiarity with this region told him was well off to the south of due east.
Humber had told him truly. Time moved differently upon the earth than upon the shores of eternity. He had been in Humber’s house for what seemed but a day. Much more time had passed here. Summer was gone; it was autumn now. Soon, winter would feel its way out of the mountains behind him with icy fingers and grip this land with a frozen fist.
His army was gone. By now, it had gone far into the south, maybe even had made its way home.
He looked around the desolate valley one last time, pulled up his collar and turned to face the southeast.
Ka’en was there, far beyond that horizon.
A thousand miles or more away.
Kelven's Riddle Book Five Page 39