With the helpless child in her arms it would have been difficult for Andra to climb up the ladder of steel but she took the webbing that she had been using for a blanket and wrapped it around herself and the child fashioning it into a make shift field pack. And relying on her soldiers training she began to move up the towering machine with Arn close behind. Ral had no trouble in surmounting the tangle of twisted metal for as a young boy he loved to swing through the great trees of Caltarine and so he scampered up and up without looking back. Ishea also had no problem escaping the now burning floor, and she looked back only once to see her former lover helping the Off-World girl and the demon thing she carried, and she found herself wishing that Horcon the God of destiny would end the life of the Selcarie girl.
The smoke and heat from below made the chamber feel like the inside of an Ironworkers furnace. It mixed with the smell of burning flesh and decay and once more a great shock wave shook the tower of steel and when it did several of the ancient warriors fell into the molten rock and were instantly consumed by the fire. Moombud too would have fallen to her death but Arn did not let her go and soon they reached the top of the machinery and the Nomad King and his mate escaped through the lifesaving crack.
But still they were not safe for once again there came a tremendous shaking and the floor on which they stood began to crumble. Disparate now the Nomad searched about for a way to defy death but the passageways were blocked with stone to large even for the Honnargar to overcome. Looking up he saw a great tangle of vines and roots but they were too high to be grasped, so knowing that they had reached their ending Arn held his mate tightly.
“I will stay with you through this world and all the worlds to come” he said softly to the woman in his arms.
And knowing that they could not escape Andra smiled at him, “I am content” she said.
They stood there waiting for death to take them but they did not fear for they were now together and together they would stay.
Ishea also knew that she would not survive but being a Queen of the Norgonie she held her head high and grasped her Kagar, her only regret was not being able to stand with her former mate and enter the Afterlife together. But then she smiled for it was a tradition of the Norgonie to burn their dead and having the Forbidden City as her funeral pyre seemed a fitting end to her rule.
“Ragute Ranana Trocoro Arm-Ra” she said softly “all glory to Arm-Ra”. And she braced her feet and waited for what was to come.
Ral ground his teeth because he had no enemy to fight; still he made up his mind that when the Eulmar came to consume him he would not huddle in fear like an old woman. He would race to meet it with his weapon in his hand and laugh as the flaming death took him.
The Honnargar did not fear for death was a constant companion to them and they cared nothing for the Afterlife so now they stood surrounding the leader and would do so until the end.
Heat and smoke billowed into the chamber as the Eulmar filled the room below; soon it would bubble up incinerating everything in its path, and still Arn and Andra held each other tightly. And even though the heat and smoke was intensifying the child did not cry, it lay calmly in its cocoon like it would have done in the safety of a Nomads wagon.
Again the chamber shook and the Outlander and girl knew that all was lost, then a voice was heard crying out above the rumblings.
“Moric-Kan!” it said.
The Nomad King and his mate looked high above them to see a young warrior calling out to them once more, “time to go” he said.
Valen had made his way downward through the stone city following his instincts and hoping that he would find those like himself, then when the shaking started and the smell of sulfur and ash began to rise up he knew that he had very little time left. It was only by luck or maybe the will of Isarie that he was where he was and able to help those below.
There was no time now and Arn watched as a thick tendril dropped from the floor above, it was as large around as a man’s wrist and it would be easy to climb up it and away from the rising death. The King and his mate began to move up the root and behind them were Ishea and Ral for they also heard the call of the Nomad and did not wait for him to speak again. Arn had hooked his ax onto his belt leaving both arms free to help the Selcarie girl, but Andra was an expert at evading an enemy and many times she had escaped being killed on the battlefield by climbing to a higher vantage point where she could return fire. Now moving upwards she held tightly to the vine and in a very short time she reached the top and grasped the open hand of the young Nomad who had saved them. Now as she looked into his handsome face she suddenly realized just who had rescued them.
“Valen” she called out, but there was little time for reminiscing and she moved away so that others might climb up, next came Arn and seeing the face of the Caladone warrior he smiled and struck the young man on his shoulder. But no words were spoken and they reached out to pull Ishea and Ral from below, and with them both safe the Outcast warrior watched as dozens of metal giants joined them. For a moment Valen was about to defend himself but as he raised his crude weapon the King held his arm.
“Friends” he said.
For a moment the young Nomad thought that the heat and smoke had clouded the mind of the Almadran King, but when he saw that they did not attack him he decided against starting a fight he was sure to loss.
When Arn made sure that his mate was safe he turned back to Valen, “is there a way to safety?” he asked.
But the young warrior only shook his head, “I came from above” he said pointing up with his hand, but with no other alternatives the Nomad King decided to put his faith in Isarie and go towards the light. So once again they began to climb, it was a race to see who would die and who would live for the Eulmar from below continue to rise and the stone city was once more rocked with shaking. But everyone knew that to stop would bring death so they summoned up all their strength and moved quickly upwards.
The Forbidden City was dying.
Great chunks of rock and steel broke away from its towering walls and fell crashing into the swampland, Daggermouths and vile creatures of the night were crushed beneath the crumbling stone. A great black plume of smoke began to rise up sending out a signal that the haunted monolith would soon be no more. But not all was death yet for the will to live still burned brightly in those that lay trapped within.
Up and up they went, grasping for life and hoping that the Angel of Death would not find them. Andra was almost at the end of her endurance and she began to lose her grip on the vine that held her, but looking down at the child she found new courage and continued upward. Arn relied on the power of an Outlander to see him through but all the while he stayed close to his mate in case she needed his help. Then another violent shock cascaded through the huge pyramid and when it reached the upper levels and those who ventured there it caused Ral to lose his grip and he began to tumble into the burning depths. But Arn saw his son falling and quickly reaching out he grasped the hand of the Norgonie warrior and held it tight. For a moment they looked into each other’s eyes then the King pulled with all his might and Ral grabbed onto a twisted root. He did not say anything to the man who had saved him but turned away and moved back up the vine.
After a time that seemed like an eternity the Nomads and the girl reached the up most levels of the city, some of the Honnagar died as the roots they climbed up broke under their massive weight but those that remained were still many. Now they waited for their leader to command them.
The place they stood were the nesting homes of the giant Screechers, and although many of them had taken flight to escape the burning death dozens of them still remained behind. Why they did this was not clear but one thing was certain, there was nowhere else to go.
As Arn desperately tried to think of a way out of this lofty prison a strange thing happened for the Ancient warriors began to move towards the huge flying reptiles. The Nomad King was about to call out to them to stop and not sacrifice their lives in a hopeless
battle with the giant scavengers. But before that could happen one of the Honnagar put his hand on the Screecher nearest him and climbed onto its back, the great beast gave out with a loud scream but it did not attack the warrior. Ishea stood wide-eyed as more of the risen dead mounted the sky flyers, she had also heard the legend of the tribe that told of warriors of the heavens but she always thought them a myth. Ral also was amazed but only for a moment for like all youth he envied the iron giants and before reason could stop him he moved towards one of the winged reptiles. But as he came near the monster struck out at him with his great jaws and he was almost bitten in too, it was then that he realized, as did all the others that only the Giants of the Earth could mount their backs.
Arn again shouted out a command, “ride with the Honnargar!” he called out, and heeding his own words the King and the Off-World girl approached one of the great beasts and with the help of its rider they were pulled up and then held tightly to the scaly back. Ral and Ishea did the same with other Screechers and their riders and not wanting to end his life in fire Valen tossed away his weapon and climbed behind one of the iron men.
Another great quake shook the stone pyramid and it began to fall, the forbidden city that had stood for eons rumbled with a sound like a thousand dying Earthshakers, and as it did the Gods of the sky took to the air and began their escape. They screamed and roared as they twisted through the falling maze of steel and stone and some of them along with their riders were crushed to death before they could make their way into the sunlight.
Moonbud held tightly to her child and the Nomads Kings right arm surrounded her and his left gripping a horn on the Screechers back. The huge warrior that rode the flying beast did not show fear as he guided the monster through the crumbling labyrinth for unknown to the Nomad the ancient Honnagar and the Screechers had a mind-link that allowed them to fly as one. And as the mighty city finally fell to the earth the last of the winged serpent’s rose gracefully into the clouded sky once more, they would never again return to their avian home. They would never build their nest in the ruins of that haunted place, but now they had a new purpose. On their backs they carried an Outland warrior, a Queen of the Norgonie and her wayward son, and they would serve the unstoppable soldiers on their backs as they had been created to do.
Osh would have argued that the odds of escaping a catastrophe such as the one that had consumed the ancient structure were far beyond a mere chance happening. He would have said that a guiding force must have surely been responsible for so many unlikely circumstances to fall into place for such an outcome. But it would never have convinced those that believed in the power of the Goddess and they would have given thanks to Isarie.
But no believer of the faith or a learned scholar of the Outer Rim could have foreseen the importance of the Off-World female and the strange child that she held in her arms.
Chapter 40.
Prayers answered.
The Nomads believe that the Gods answer all prayers, but sometimes the answer is not the one that they have asked for, this is something that scholars of the Outer Rim have debated over for countless cycles. How can follows of different Gods still believe in their power when those very same deities mistreat them? I think that it is a question that cannot be answered for I have seen followers of omnipotent beings still praying to their Gods as they died on their alters.
From the Mindlock of Oshismarie Inastro Sistashion.
It had taken the combined power of the High Priestess and the speaker of Arm-Ra to command that both the Almadra and the Norgonie meet at the great temple and there they would listen to what the Gods expected of them.
Hearing that Egmar had talked with the Priest of the Forest-dwellers made the Nomads grumble and proclaim that their Holy Mother had come under the spell of the voice of the false God. But when a warrior that had gone with their King staggered back to the fortress and just before dying he told them of the unholy things that lived in the Forbidden City they resigned themselves too never seeing their Leader again. There was much crying from the Elders and the Wailing women once more began to sing the songs of sadness, the warriors beat the ground with their war-axes and many vowed to return to the forest and take revenge for the death of their strong leader.
No one felt sadder for the loss of the King then Kuno but he also understood that sending out warriors seeking retribution would be useless, they were surrounded by Norgonie and tensions would now escalate for they also understood that their Queen had met the same fate as Arn. So the old warrior told them to hold in their anger and keep their eyes open and they did so.
The Forest-dwellers did not react the same, for not only did they lose their beloved Queen but also their best warrior. So they shouted and called out for the deaths of the Outlanders and it was only by executing the leaders of the uprising and hanging their lifeless bodies on the fortress walls that a delicate peace was returned to the home of the Norgonie.
Now all was being made ready for a death ritual for Anais had pledged to give up his life if their Queen had not returned. And it did not matter that the Almadra King would also never return a pledge was a pledge and there was nothing that could be done.
But inside his cell the blind Prince was resigned to his fate, now he sat quietly in one corner of the small room and thought about his past and what may lie ahead.
All my life I have wished for the death of my brother he thought and now I will give up my life for him. And strangely this brought a small smile to the face of the Nomad for he found it amusing that for all his scheming and well made plans he did not realize that his life was not his to command. Something beyond his knowledge had been guiding his past and he was like a drop of water in a raging stream, he was tossed from side to side and sometimes broke on rocks but all the time his path was clear and it could never be changed. Dam up that river and it will soon break its borders, dig a channel and a storm will come and the water will overrun its banks. There is nothing I can do, he thought, I must go with that stream until it runs to the ocean and that ocean is eternity. And again he smiled for he sounded like a Sun-Gazer and he never thought that he would end his days as a Holy Man.
A Holy Man? He heard his mind ask, and it made him laugh for never in all his dreams of power did he see himself as a guide to those seeking wisdom. Then he heard footsteps and he knew that Kela had once more come to sit with him. He listened as the young girl and his jailers drew near, and then came the sound of a lock turning and the iron door being opened, then more sound as it closed and footfalls moving away.
For a time there was only silence for both knew that soon there would be no more meetings and their forbidden love would end.
It was the Handmaiden who spoke first, “I regret nothing,” she said softly. Kela had lived most of her young life as a servant of the Goddess, she had prayed and sang the sacred songs as loudly as anyone, she stood beside the Holy Mother and kept herself chased through all those cycles, but then she found love in the most unlikely place. And taking that love into her arms she had given up her vow and in the eyes of her tribe she was now one of the fallen.
Anais lifted his head to her, “I have only one regret” he replied, then he rose up and moved to stand close to the young Handmaiden, “I regret that I cannot see your eyes” and then he kissed her.
They stood there for a time not thinking about anything but what they held in their arms and feeling a contentment that few children of Isarie ever come to know.
Deep in the earth and out of the site of the Goddess the Coraw of the Sandjar slaves listened as two Norgonie guards spoke of the coming death of the blind Prince. They laughed at saying how much they looked forward to seeing the blood of an Almadran stain the sacrificial stone of Arm-Ra. And although Endo no longer considered himself a member of the tribe he still owed a debt to the Outlander King and the blood-mother that had born him on her back. But he felt a greater obligation to those of his kind and freeing them from their oppressors and now he put that plan into action.
/> He showed them how to fashion crude but effective weapons from cast off bits of metal and wood, and working unnoticed during their rest periods they managed to construct knives and spears that would kill in close combat. And chipping the hard Eul they made ax heads an attached them to wooden handles made from broken level supports, all this was done in secret and then the weapons were buried under coverings of earth in places where the guards did not venture.
Even the carcass of the Gorno was used, for when it was killed the Sandjars were ordered to dispose of the remains for its flesh was vile and could not be eaten so they quickly dragged the giant worm into a section of tunnel that was no longer useful. But later they returned and removed the monster’s teeth to use as daggers. They even coated the sharp edges with the venom of Rockworms so that even if the Norgonie did not die from its cut they would have screamed in agony.
But weapons alone do not make up an army and knowing this Endo would sit and speak of freedom and the world above and all the things that a Sandjar was meant to do. And as he spoke the slaves listened and soon the galleries whispered of a time when they would rise up and take revenge on their masters and once more walk in the light. He understood that many of his kind would die and perhaps all of them when they reached the surface and had to fight the warriors of the forest but it would be a better death then to sit and rot in the bowels of the earth.
But he understood that although his life was his own and that he would gladly give it up rather then spend it in slavery he could not ask his people to do the same. So when the Iron Gate was shut and locked and the guards no longer watching he asked them to come together in the great chamber and listen to what he had to say. And being their Coraw they obeyed.
Now with Rawna close at his side and Mog standing near him the young Sandjar began to speak.
The Fallen God Page 59