Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series)

by Guyton, David J.

  Vohl shook his head as he stared at the floor. "It will be difficult to convince people to join an army that is consistently getting cut in half."

  "We don't have a lot of other options, Vohl. I don't really have any power other than the protection my armor gives me. And I don't have an army of magical beasts to throw at my enemies. We need to get the Medoran people informed and involved. They need to be educated on what Uritus plans to do to Medora. Once they know the truth, they will rise up and fight alongside us."

  "Let us hope, Master Rommus. But I fear that the nature of humankind is to take the path of least resistance. It is far easier to put up no fight and accept whatever fate is placed before us than to fight for something as intangible as freedom. The sharp edge of truth is no match for those who refuse to acknowledge it."

  Rommus picked up a book and flipped through some pages. "There's wisdom in that statement, my friend. There are some among us who refuse to admit that things are changing or that the mighty nation of Medora can fall. It is literally crumbling around them and they still wake up and do the same things they did the day before. They shuffle through their days, with eyes wide open but their hearts and souls are sleeping."

  "And how do we wake the slumbering masses, Master Rommus? We do not have time to knock on every door and deliver personal messages to every man, woman and child."

  "It's too late for that. The older we get, the more set in our ways we get. We're not going to convince those who hate us that their ways are all wrong and have been their whole lives. All we can do is find people who have the same ideals as we do, and reach out to them. With their help, we must drive back our enemies; here on Medoran soil and abroad. It doesn't matter if we can't convince everyone that our way is right; we just have to do what's right—with or without them."

  "You choose to fight a hard battle, Master Rommus."

  Rommus chuckled. "You don't know the half of it. I have an idea that just might save Medora—assuming we survive this war and Uritus. It's going to be hard to implement, but it may be the only way to save freedom as we know it."

  A door slammed down the hall and startled them both. Another door slammed before they drew their weapons. Footfalls could be heard coming down the hallway in a hurry. Both men waited with swords leveled at the doorway.

  Chapter 13

  Alana gasped when she saw the swords at her throat. "What are you doing? You could have killed me, you idiots."

  "Where have you been?" Vohl asked as he sheathed his sword.

  "Yeah, we need to talk about that. Uritus captured me. He let me go."

  "He let you go?" Rommus asked. "Why would he do that? And do you know where the book is?"

  "Yeah, I know where the book is. He has it again. His men came here. I don't know how they knew where we were hiding out, but three Mages came here looking for it. For a second I thought to grab a different book to throw them off, but I remembered that it was their book to begin with and they wouldn't be fooled. Anyway, they chased me across Brinn. I got rid of the book as I ran, but they found it after they captured me. I was put in a cell, and Uritus himself showed up eventually. He asked me some questions about the book, and then he let me go."

  Vohl stood regally and straightened his jacket. "This must be some sort of trick. This makes no sense. If I were him, I would keep you imprisoned and force the rest of us to come look for you."

  "He claims he doesn't care anymore," Alana said. "He says that his main concern now is winning this war, and he knows that you have men loyal to you throughout the Medoran army. He fears that if they break away, Medora has no chance of surviving this war."

  "Yeah, I fear the same thing," Rommus said. "But how does he expect me to believe he's not out to kill me?"

  "He said he knew you would have a hard time believing him. He said that releasing me was an attempt to show good faith. He could have killed me, but he didn't want to start any trouble."

  "Then why capture you in the first place?" Vohl asked.

  "He wanted his book back. The Mages chasing me didn't know I got rid of it until after they caught me. He says he doesn't want you coming for that book, and in exchange, he will not try to take back your armor and sword. He says they are yours now."

  Rommus banged his knuckles idly on the table as he thought. "Why in the world would he say all that? What's the trick here?"

  "It may be genuine, Master Rommus, but it seems more likely to be an attempt to get you to lower your guard," Vohl said.

  Rommus nodded to himself. "He would have to know that the effect would be the exact opposite of that. He knows I will be even more alert now. We really don't have time for his games. We have a massive battle on our doorstep, and the largest army ever assembled waiting just outside of our borders."

  Alana thought for a moment. "Maybe he doesn't have time for our games either, Rommus. Maybe he really won't bother us—at least for the time being. It would be a stupid move to lower our guard, but maybe we need to focus on the war and not so much on Uritus."

  Alana stared at Rommus, waiting for an answer or at least a shrug of his shoulders. When she saw no response, she looked over to Vohl for one. He was staring right at her, so she was careful to avoid directly looking into his eyes. She instead looked above them, near his eyebrows, where the effect of his power to read and transmit emotions was minimal. But something struck her as being very unusual. While there was no direct eye contact to magically convey emotions between them, there was something new there. She saw it in his posture. It was in the way he held his head. There was a quiet sadness in him; a longing. There was some emotion inside him that was coming to the surface for the first time. It seemed that the man who so effortlessly deflected his emotions and intercepted the emotion of others was suddenly unable to hide something. Her heart went out to him, and it wasn't because he had control of her emotions. It was because for the first time, she saw him feeling something, and what he was feeling was hurting him.

  Rommus interrupted her thoughts. "What did he ask about the book? What did you tell him?"

  Alana looked into Rommus's eyes. "I didn't tell him anything he couldn't figure out from reading the book himself."

  "He doesn't know that Song wrote it, does he?"

  "No. I told him it was Erratus Ridoria who wrote it, but that's written in the book. In his mind, Erratus Ridoria died a long time ago. There's no way he could discover that Song is going to eventually go back in time and become the third Emperor of Medora."

  "We figured it out, my Lady," Vohl said quietly.

  "Well, we're smarter than he is. Plus, he just has himself; there are more of us trying to figure these things out."

  "Are you crazy?" Rommus said. "There are only four people we can really trust, and three of them are in this room. Uritus has all of his Mages—however many people that is. He also has Battus Gredda and probably most of his Legion. Plus there's half of Medora who is loyal to him, willing to follow their Emperor down any road he takes them."

  "You don't trust Song, Master Rommus?"

  "I don't know Song well enough to make that judgment. I trust Erratus Ridoria, the man. Song is still a kid. He's got a lot of growing up to do before he becomes a figure worthy of trust. Medorans admire the founding fathers of Medora, but Song has not gone through that process yet. He's just a boy."

  "A boy with an extremely important future," Vohl said.

  Rommus nodded. "A future that will become our history. "Maybe we're thinking about all of our troubles the wrong way. Maybe we can use Song in a way we haven't thought of before."

  "How so?" Alana asked.

  "We can help to shape him. He's still young and only just now discovering what the world is all about. I don't believe he has any sort of father figure or even friends to speak of. He has no one to show him truth and reason. If we can guide him, we may be able to help to literally found Medora. If we help him understand what's important, perhaps we can avert all of the current problems we have now."

  "That's no
t going to work, Rommus," Alana said.

  "What? Why not?"

  "Rommus, his life as an Emperor happened centuries ago. Whatever he does or thinks way back then will be long-forgotten by our time. The people living now don't care about what some long-dead leader thought hundreds and hundreds of years ago. In fact, I bet they think of leaders from the past as simple, uninformed and unenlightened. No one alive today believes that the problems leaders faced in the past are anywhere near the sort of problems we face today. We can't put our faith in Ridoria, even if he happened to be the greatest leader ever to walk the earth."

  "I tend to agree with Alana, Master Rommus," Vohl added. "And I also will add that we cannot forget the rules about travelling through time. Remember that no matter what we do, we have no genuine impact on the future; or in this case, the past. We cannot alter where we end up. We are only able to slightly alter the path we take to get there. Besides, we no longer have the star of Tachion."

  Rommus folded his arms. "But we can safely assume that Song either has it in his possession right now, or he will find it eventually. We know he uses it to go back in time. It's clear that he will be the one who holds the star of Tachion for a great length of time throughout history, and with that being the case, he will have a far better chance than anyone else in shaping that history."

  "That's no sort of strategy, Rommus," Alana said. "We have problems right here and now that we need to deal with. We can't risk putting all of our hope on Song."

  Rommus ran a hand through his hair as he sat at the table. "I suppose you're both right. I still think it's important to show Song the importance of truth and reason, but perhaps he is only a man meant to shape the world in his own time. We are here in this time to try to shape our own world."

  "We need a leader now, Master Rommus. We need someone other than Uritus to lead the people out of this darkness and to the light of freedom. I think that leader is you."

  Rommus's head jerked up to look at Vohl. "Me? Are you kidding? I am not a leader of the people. I am only worried about leading this new Legion in this war. I was a Captain in the past, and I can handle that sort of responsibility. But leading a nation—come on guys."

  Alana unfolded her arms. "Rommus, who better to lead Medora? You understand the value of freedom, and you're a hero to these people. This is your calling in life. It is your destiny."

  Rommus stood abruptly, his tone turning very serious. "I am not a hero. The word 'hero' is thrown around far too loosely these days, and frankly, it offends me. A hero is someone who sacrifices himself for others—or at least tries to. I haven't sacrificed anything, and if I ever pretend to then it would be a slap in the face to all the real heroes. I do the things I do because I believe them to be right, and in trying to do what's right, I have had to do terrible things that I wish I could forget. I have not sacrificed myself for others, and I don't want to hear that sort of talk ever again."

  Chapter 14

  The world was awash in bright light. Ghostly figures swarmed around them, completely oblivious to their presence. Details were hard to make out, as the annoying swell of bright light clouded their vision. It was an area they were not permitted to see, but the omission itself was still valuable information. The mere fact that they could stand near the glaring light and gather information almost made the obstructive light inconsequential.

  The closer they stood to the light, the less they were able to see. There was also an irritating screech that got louder and louder as the radiant glare grew brighter. They tried several ideas to skirt around this complication, but it seemed that the gods had ensured that the being at the center of the light would forever be protected from their prying eyes.

  It didn't really matter. They knew who stood inside the light. There were several others who were also protected by the light. All of the gods in the Land of the Gods were hidden from them, and anyone who was in possession of an artifact of the gods as well. Since they were unable to see him even when he was not in direct possession of the armor or sword of Arius, they knew that the legend was true; Rommus Tirinius had found a way to become a god.

  While their orb would not permit Gorin and Gewin to see what Rommus and the other gods were doing, it certainly allowed them to see what was happening all around them. If another person was speaking to Rommus, that person could generally be heard over the piercing screech that the light seemed to make. By piecing together bits of conversations, much could be deduced about what Rommus was planning. It was a difficult task, but worth the trouble.

  The orb projected the world surrounding Rommus onto their own surroundings, so it appeared to them as if they were in the same room as he was. While spying on other people than Rommus, the image was much clearer and full of color, but when near the blinding protective light, colors and details faded. They found themselves squinting and even yelling at the light in frustration at times, since it obscured so much and overwhelmed their senses with such disregard for their desire for knowledge.

  Gorin saw the woman, Alana, step closer to Rommus. "I can't hear you when you are that close to him!" Gorin growled. "Back up and speak!"

  Of course, Alana could not hear his complaints, and did not react at all. She could be seen reaching into the light, which probably meant she was touching him. It was clear to Gorin that Alana had feelings for Rommus, but it was impossible to determine how he felt about her. It would prove to be valuable information if they could ever discover the truth, as he and his brother might be able to use Alana against Rommus. They might need to use her as bait or for bargaining, as it was possible that he would prove to be a more powerful enemy than the brothers expected.

  The immortal Vohl spoke up again in the corner. They were apparently still discussing something about leadership or heroes or some other trivial matters. The twins had been listening patiently for some time, hoping to hear the Medorans' strategy for the war. They had missed the meeting that Rommus had with his father before he came to visit the immortal, so the discussion about the next step went unheard. It didn't matter all that much, because the twins were able to overhear the plans the Zidaoz was making for when he arrived at the fortified city of Taburdum. There was no way the Medorans would survive that attack.

  But Rommus probably would. While his powers were taken from him by the new Medoran Emperor, he still had the armor and the sword. As long as he possessed these items, it would be nearly impossible for the invading army to kill him.

  Gorin and Gewin, however, could. They knew the weakness and they were on their way to see the deed done. They were on a mission to end the life of Rommus Tirinius, sent by one of the gods themselves.

  That god was Maeris, god of destruction. He was the only one of the gods to communicate with the twins, and he did so using the orb. It was impossible for them to contact Maeris themselves, but when the god wanted to speak to them, he used the orb to do so. Normally both brothers would need to be touching the orb to make it work, and all of the people they spied upon seemed to be ethereal images and not solid beings. But when Maeris spoke with them through the orb, neither brother needed to touch it, and the god was a solid being. Maeris could only be seen when he initiated the communication; otherwise he was hidden by the same light that shielded Rommus and the other gods.

  Gorin and Gewin were well aware of the rivalry between Maeris and Arius, the previous god of war. Destruction and war were obviously related, and both gods were always competing for the favor of Oderion, as well as the humans. Each thought the other was unnecessary, and wanted the other eliminated. But Maeris was a god of darkness, and Arius was a god of light. The balance of the gods was important to the structure and rule of the gods, and by keeping both sides equal in power and authority over humankind, Oderion was able to maintain power and authority over the other gods. It was a delicate structure, but one that had held since the beginning of time.

  Gorin and Gewin were on their way to tear down that delicate web of power. Maeris had commanded them to kill Rommus Tirinius, and with
his death the two remaining gods of light could be overpowered by the three gods of death. Once that feat could be achieved, the reign of Oderion could be brought to an end. Maeris had also informed them that the new Emperor Uritus had been given the same command by Inshae, and to aid him in his mission or at least not interfere with it.

  If they could kill Rommus before Uritus could, the twins would be granted rule over all the lands of the world. No one other than the gods could command them, and they would rule as they saw fit for the remainder of eternity. He would also grant them human form again, so that they no longer appeared to be monsters. While they could not remember far enough back in their past to even recall being human, they longed for the day when they were no longer hideous creatures among men.

  But there would be a significant complication when they reached Medora. There was a war going on, and Maeris did not want the twins to interfere with Uritus's plans to kill Rommus. Their original intent was to take over the war at Taburdum and use the invading army to crush Rommus and the Medorans into dust, but they knew better than to anger the god of destruction.

  The newer plan was to avoid the war and offer their services to Uritus if they could find him. The new Emperor did not need to know that their reward for killing Rommus would grant them permanent rule over Uritus and the rest of the world. It made better sense not to compete with Uritus, and instead offer to kill Rommus for him. This would get him out of their way and hopefully not anger any of the gods of darkness. After all, the gods of darkness had helped them to become who they were.