Mestel said, “I hope you can help to bring about a peaceful resolution to the war between the humans and the elves before too many lives are lost.” Nero looked directly at him, and Mestel met his gaze head on. The two warriors locked eyes for a moment before Nero looked away.
Nero said, “That is indeed a worthy goal, Mestel. I will look for a way to end the war quickly, but that may not be possible.”
Mestel said, with just a hint of irony, “I know you will do your best.”
Xander leaned forward next and voiced his thoughts. “We’ve had quite a ride since I met the elven brothers at a bar so many moons ago. You’re welcome for saving your skin, by the way.” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mestel could not help turning to his brother and giving a light chuckle. “Thanks to you, I have escaped assassination a number of times, slain a giant, defeated a vampire, saved the High Priest of Fortuna, and escaped from a Talon Guild prison. Of course, we also lost the gem carrying the High Wizard of the Sorcerers and nearly caused the Plane of Chaos to collide with Tellus, but who is counting?” Mestel again had to chuckle. He had never liked Xander, even from the beginning, but he had to admit the half-elf could tell a joke.
The smile on Xander’s face disappeared and the humor disappeared with it. He seemed torn on how to continue. A moment later he seemed to make up his mind, nod his head, and continue. “I make light of our time together, but I really must thank you. Before I met this group, I was much more a thief than I was a priest. I was more interested in profit than in doing what was right. I didn’t care a rat’s ass about the wizard stuck in the gem. I was only concerned with selling the gem to the highest bidder, or safeguarding the gem and receiving the wizard’s reward. If not for you, I would have died alone many years from now as an old man and been condemned to one of the seven hells for all eternity. But now I have seen the light. I want to learn about Fortuna and study her sacred texts. I want to know more about her plans for my life. Which makes my choice about where to go next all the more difficult.
“For me, the question of what I want to do next boils down to two choices. Obviously, a large part of me would like to go back to Locus and join the Basilica to the Lady of Luck as a priest. Perhaps in time I could rise through the ranks and maybe even become High Priest. Can you imagine that?”
Mestel answered first. “Not likely. If that is your choice, then I wish the priestesses in your order the best of luck.” Xander nodded his head in amusement. Mestel had to admit Xander’s change had been remarkable. He had thought on it a few times and determined the change had begun abruptly after Xander had returned from the dead. Mestel knew from personal experience what a life-changing event that had been, and while his devotion to Fortuna was absurd, at least it had made him turn away from his life of selfish gratification.
“The second choice was given to me recently by none other than Nero.” Mestel had to admit he hadn’t seen that one coming. “Nero thinks I would fit in well as an Agent of the Crown, so he has invited me back to the capital of Armena to have a closer look at his organization. I have to admit I never thought I would join an organization like this, but I imagine it is leaps and bounds better than working for the Talon Thieves Guild.”
Valihorn asked, “You think you could be happy working in secret for the Crown of Armena?”
Xander cocked his head to the side in thought. “If you had asked me only a moon’s turn ago I might easily have said no, but now I actually find it appealing. The idea of serving my homeland in a meaningful way is a tempting prospect. I think I could be happy there.
“Luckily, this is one decision I don’t have to make.”
Evisar said, “What do you mean?” Instead of saying anything, Xander dug into the small pouch at his side and pulled out his coin of Fortuna and held it up for all to see. Evisar shook his head and said, “Are you really going to leave your fate up to a coin toss?”
Xander said, “It is the way of Fortuna to have all major life decisions determined by the toss of a coin. And this isn’t just any coin, as you well know. This is a coin of Fortuna, passed down to me by my father, who had it given to him by his father. This coin has guided my family for generations, as it guides me now. By using this coin, I am allowing Fortuna to guide my destiny as she sees fit.” Xander stood up where he was and prepared to flip the coin. He showed the companions the side of the coin with the Basilica of Fortuna on it. “If it lands with the Basilica facing up, I will be a priest at the Basilica.” He turned the coin over and showed the companions the rainbow side of the coin. “If it lands rainbow-side up, I will go with Nero to Bethel and learn more about being an Agent of the Crown.”
Xander flipped the coin end over end through the air. The coin went high into the air, reached its apex, and fell back to earth. The coin hit the earth with a thud and lay perfectly still. Xander picked up the coin and put it back in his pouch.
He then looked up at Nero and said, “Nero, if you will have me, I will travel with you back to Bethel and learn more about your organization.”
Nero smiled broadly and said, “The Crown will be lucky to have an elf of your abilities.”
And with that, Xander sat down. Everyone looked expectantly at Mestel and Valihorn, knowing they were the only ones left to speak. Valihorn remained silent waiting for him to speak, but Mestel remained quiet – reluctant to say what he knew he must.
Mestel looked at the fire and said, “I have also dramatically changed since I set out from Armena more than half a year ago.” Xander snorted out loud at the obvious understatement. “My brother and I have seen and accomplished more than either of us ever thought possible. My experience with death made me realize that what we do in life matters for eternity. I want each of you to know that you have a special place in my heart, which is what makes this decision so difficult. It has been a distinct honor to travel with all of you, but I will not be going back to Jewlian with Austen, nor will I be traveling back to Armena with Evisar.” Gasps turned into yelling as everyone around the campfire expressed their shock. Mestel looked up at Austen, but it was his brother who asked, “What do you mean, you aren’t going back with me to Armena?”
Mestel looked down at the fire. “Exactly what I said. I serve the Flying Falcon, and a falcon hunts alone. My path is my own, and I will not ask any of you to follow. I am Martel’s faithful servant on Tellus, and I will go where he commands. Instead of returning to Armena, I will instead travel to Locus to destroy the Talon Thieves Guild.”
“What?”
Evisar rose from his seat in anger and drew Neverlost. Mestel stood up as well, not quite sure of his brother’s intentions. His brother pointed Neverlost at his chest and said, “I will return to Armena to defend our people.” Evisar turned Neverlost around in his hand and threw the sword at Mestel hilt first. Mestel caught the sword with one hand. Evisar continued without missing a beat. “What does your god demand of you that is more important than that? Look at our father’s legacy and tell me that is not where you belong. Look at it!”
Mestel looked down at the magical longsword that had been in his family for generations. He felt the weight of it as well as the pull. He felt torn by two loyalties for the first time since his resurrection. His brother as well as his people needed him. Armena was in a fight to the death, surrounded on all sides by enemies that sensed weakness and were closing in for the kill. Could he really turn his back on them to follow where Martel was leading? Did he have that luxury? Did he have that right?
Then his thoughts turned to Martel, and he remembered the glory that was his kingdom. He remembered that it was Martel who had brought him back to life, and his continued grace that allowed him to walk across Tellus. He remembered his spirit flying down from the heavens and over the Shetley Fortress walls. He remembered seeing his broken and dismembered body as Martel pieced him back together and breathed life into his dead frame.
Once Mestel remembered how he felt in those uncertain times, the decision became simple. He threw Neverlost ba
ck at Evisar hilt first. “I will follow where my god leads. I can see the gates of Locus from here. I will destroy the Talon Guild or die trying.”
Evisar said, “Then you will die trying. Do you really think you can take on the Talon Thieves Guild all by yourself? You don’t stand a chance. You’ll be dead inside a moon’s turn.” He pointed Neverlost menacingly at his chest. “I will not be held responsible for this; do you hear me? If you do this, then you do it alone. I’ll grieve over your death, but I will not follow you to the bottom of the sea in your sinking ship.”
Seeing that he wasn’t having any affect, Evisar changed his tone and his tactics. “Why have you become so selfish? This is not the Jefon I knew growing up. My brother would think of his country and his people before himself. That is what our family does. That is what our family has always done. What do you think father died for? He died defending a homeland and a king he dearly loved. I am going home to do what I can for our people – exile be damned. Your place is at my side. Once we deal with the threats against Armena, then you can go off on your god’s quest.”
Mestel reached forward and grabbed his brother’s arm. “Don’t you see that our goals are the same? You seek to save our people from being wiped off Tellus, and so do I. You want to defend Armena from the war that is coming, while I want to stop that war from ever taking place.”
Evisar looked at him with confusion and anger. “Our missions are not the same! The Talon Guild is trying to destabilize this entire region for their own purposes. They don’t care who gets in their way or who gets killed in the process, as long as the Guild gets what it wants. We learned at the Shetley Fortress that the Talon Guild is working with the Krone. The Guild killed the King of Armena and took Devin into the Underworld. The Guild murdered Devin in cold blood and killed one in three of our kinsmen. They captured the High Wizard of the Sorcerers and imprisoned him in a gem.
“They probably convinced the King of Kentar that the elves attacked and destroyed their logging town of Endwood, precipitating the war with Armena. Then, after they got the King of Kentar to do their bidding, they probably assassinated him. And these are only the plots we know about. Do you honestly think you can bring down an organization as powerful as that?”
Mestel grabbed Evisar’s arm all the tighter. “Don’t you see? By killing the Guildmaster and lopping the head off the dragon, we can stop the destruction of Armena and fragment the Guild. Destroying the Guild is the key to saving our people.”
Evisar wrenched his arm away from Mestel. “Your logic is flawed since you can’t possibly bring down the Guild. Austen said the Guild has been around for more than three hundred years. It has survived greater threats than you.”
“It has never fought the power of a god before.”
Evisar turned away from Mestel and said, “All you are going to do is get yourself killed. And since that is the case, that means you are already dead to me. Go and serve your god then if you must.”
Valihorn interrupted the building of the chasm that separated the elven brothers by standing up and blurting out. “I am going with Mestel. He has quite convinced me.”
The argument stopped immediately as everyone turned toward the young wizard and said, “What?”
Valihorn realized everyone was staring at him and he hesitated. Then he took a step forward, strong in his resolve. “That is correct. I will travel with Mestel to Locus in order to destroy the Talon Guild.”
Austen said, “Valihorn, you were my finest apprentice, but you are not a follower of Martel. Why would you travel with Mestel to Locus?”
“My parents were slaughtered by barbarians with overwhelming power, much like the Guild wields overwhelming power. I do not want to see anything like that ever again. Not when I can do something to stop it. The Talon Guild is so powerful that it has manipulated the Kingdoms of Kentar and Armena into going to war with each other. I am a half-elf, which means I am half human and half elf. I cannot stand the thought of something happening to the noblest of human kingdoms and the last elven kingdom. Not when I can do something to stop it. Mestel and I may end up at the end of a rope, just like the Krone we chased, but that is the chance we are both willing to take. So, I will travel to Locus with Mestel and do what I can to bring down the Guild.” With his decision made, Valihorn sat back down by the fire.
Silence crashed in on the companions as each of them took to heart what the others had said. Evisar finally rose to his feet and said, “We have each made our choice. I do not know what the future holds, but I sincerely hope that the gods will favor each of our journeys. I leave this camp with a heavy heart, but I also leave it with a sense of hope. Hope that Armena will survive the night, and hope that Kentar will once again become a noble kingdom where honest folk have nothing to fear.” Then he glanced at Mestel before looking back at the fire. “I leave with a hope that the Talon Thieves Guild will face its greatest challenge in its three-hundred-year history.”
THE END
Note from the author:
I sincerely hope you enjoyed the third volume of A Prayer for Peace. I would greatly appreciate your feedback with an honest review on Amazon.com, or you can send me an email at [email protected].
First and foremost, I’m always looking to grow and improve as a writer. It is reassuring to hear what works, as well as receive constructive feedback on what needs improvement. Second, starting out as an unknown author is exceedingly difficult, and Amazon reviews go a long way toward making the journey out of anonymity possible. Please take a few minutes to write an honest review.
Best regards,
Jeff Henrikson
Acknowledgements:
This one is for my mom, whom we lost on June 3rd of 2016 in a car accident. She was a great inspiration, artist, and editor. The cover to book one and the beautiful map of Tellus she drew will remain for all time. From start to finish, publishing a book is hard work. Writing the words on the page is difficult, but it’s the support and editing talent of the people behind the scenes that deserve much of the credit, for they help willingly and without reward.
I would like to thank my amazing wife for putting up with this all-consuming profession. I would like to thank William Kenney for another stunning cover. Special thanks go out to my brother, Mark, for his skill and guidance. How he managed to publish seven books in the time it took me to publish three is still a mystery.
Lastly, I would like to thank my editors, of which there are many, and Eric Adelizzi in particular. I trust each of you know what your contribution was to this finished product. Thanks for unselfishly giving of yourselves to make this novel several times better than it otherwise would have been.
Do the Gods Give Us Hope? Page 52