Lore of Sanctum Omnibus

by Elaina J Davidson

  The dark man offered a cold smile. “Perhaps. The timing, however, is fortuitous.”

  “What does that mean?” Tannil screeched.

  “Tannil, I wish I had known my son Skynis and I certainly wish with all my heart I had known my grandson Tannil at the time of your living. Nothing I do or say is able to return either of us to that kind of bliss, and nothing in this universe or another is able to repair the damage. I need to move onward from guilt.”

  “Say my true name and guilt is done with.”

  “No. It is time for you to leave.”

  “I refuse.”

  “Stay, then. Know your reign as Timekeeper will end in the next few moments.”

  Tannil surged to his feet. “I am able to force compliance.”

  Elianas gazed up, his dark eyes unfathomable. “You cannot. Alhazen cannot be manipulated by anyone.”

  “Your death will fell him!”

  “For a time, yes.”

  “Why?” Tannil burst out.

  “There are so many reasons I do not know where to commence an articulate explanation, and not one reason I utter aloud would make sense to you. You are, after all, an outsider, Tannil. Torrullin will understand eventually. I care about only that; I care not what you think or believe. You have ten seconds, grandson. Ten … nine … eight …”

  Tannil vanished.

  Elianas laughed aloud, satisfaction clear in his every expression. Then he sobered. Perhaps he should consider more. There would be ramifications.

  To Hades with that.

  It was time to act decisively.

  Balconaru

  THE GATES WERE OF iron and hung askew as if ripped by giants from their great hinges.

  The walls were of boulders, many feet thick, and were as dust in the wind. The cobbled ways were awash in blood and urine and faeces … and body parts. Of people, of animals. Trees burned as rush torches. Ash shot upward and drifted slowly down.

  It was a netherworld.

  Teighlar clambered off Alik’s horse and approached a man laying half in and half out of a doorway.

  “Don’t,” Alik said, choking it out.

  “I have to.”

  “He needs to see what they look like,” Lowen murmured. Her face was set and expressionless and she tried with everything she had not to look too hard or too long at anything. She was not always successful.

  The man was whole, although blood covered most of him. He wore leather breeches and high boots, a linen shirt festooned with symbols, red on black. A timepiece adorned his wrist, an earring in one lobe. A small tattoo sat high upon his left cheek.

  He was pale of skin, as all Senlu in Grinwallin were. His hair was reddish, as most Senlu possessed. The timepiece was modern. The boots were factory made. Clearly technology existed here. The tattoo was a word, upon closer inspection.

  It read, Luvan.

  Teighlar hissed through his teeth and rapidly made his way to the next body, a woman crumpled at the edge of the building. He rolled her over. Pale. Auburn hair. Leather waistcoat, high boots, fringed and colourful skirt. A tattoo. Also upon her cheek.

  It read, Danaan.

  Hissing again, Teighlar ran to another body, this one on the opposite side of the cobbled street. A man, dressed as the other.

  His tattoo read, Alexander.

  Teighlar straightened. By all gods. By Eurue.

  A young child lay in the canals running parallel with every street. A Senlu, if not for where she was. She, too, wore a tattoo upon her cheek. It appeared as if the mark was made close to birth.

  Hers read, Diluvan.

  Teighlar stared down.

  He moved to a woman severed by the chains of a swing in a play park. Gritting his teeth to bear the weight of what she must have suffered as death sought her, he lifted red hair from her forehead to read her mark.

  Senlu.

  He sank to his knees.

  They had not forgotten their genesis.

  Moreover, they had kept apace of what happened to their kind, even if that kind began with him, a half-Danaan and a half-Valleur. Perhaps in his longevity they saw a future in which to celebrate who they were. Perhaps one day soon, with Grinwallin finally at peace, they would have paid a visit and forged the connection that would see them rejoined with their blood. Perhaps then the universe would have known the Danaan history.

  Clip-clop.

  He swivelled. Alik and Lowen were nearby, waiting for him.

  Teighlar nearly wept then. How did he place this in a box never to be examined? Or should he crow it out to the universe and reveal the real truth? What would it gain him, and what would it do to his Senlu of today? Tell the universe a Valleur had again murdered their kind?

  Every truce and friendship would sunder. Luvanor as a whole would war on tiny Grinwallin tucked in its easterly region. The Senlu would lose. Grinwallin, however, might act in defence and that could herald another kind of war.

  He stared at Lowen. “They wear history upon their cheeks. Perhaps they are tribe names here or some such nuance, but it is nonetheless history.”

  “I do not understand.”

  He touched his left cheek. “A mark, here, upon each. So far I have read Danaan, Luvan, Diluvan, Alexander and Senlu.”

  “All gods,” she breathed.

  “Exactly.”

  “What do you do with that?”

  He covered his face. “I do not know!”

  “Let us get away first,” Alik whispered.

  His hands swung down and he nodded. “Yes. Let’s.”

  Mariner Island

  IT WAS ODD THAT Elianas stayed away.

  Torrullin went to the front door of the cottage and stared over the garden to the lake beyond. Birdsong, and not much else, other than the faint sound of waves breaking upon the cliff. No sign of the dark man.

  Yet the universe had about it a sense of terrible expectation.

  Something somewhere was about to change and the results would reverberate throughout the spaces and echo through all time.

  It worried him.

  Chapter 11

  Study water flow, scientist, in order to understand how invisible matter and energy moves. See how an obstacle in water’s path is never an obstacle? See how it fluidly swirls into a new current? Always it chooses the path of least resistance. Energy is akin to that. Watch closely.

  Sorcerer to scientist, Alchemist Convention

  ~ Date 8924 – Avior ~

  Luvanor

  Grinwallin

  TIANOMAN SAT DECHEND down in the sitting room of the Valla home in Grinwallin.

  He had summoned the Elder for information and he would not allow the man to bloody leave again until he had it from him.

  Dechend studied him with apparent serenity, however, and it grated upon every nerve in his body. For Lunik’s sake, who slept in a nearby chamber, and for Aislinn’s, who had taken to kitchen duties with gusto and was even now preparing another ‘treat’ - she definitely needed more practice - he would curtail his temper no matter how far the man challenged his control.

  “Dechend, I consider you a friend, and thus ask that you be straight with me. Why is it I cannot leave the confines of this house?”

  The Elder cocked his head. “It should be obvious, Lord Vallorin. Your grandfather shielded it.”

  “And why would he do so?”

  “To keep you and your beautiful wife and adorable son safe from all harm, of course.”

  His nearly bit the tips of his tongue off, but Tianoman managed to curb an inclination to scream his frustration. “When did he prepare this shield?”

  “I believe it was before he returned to Avaelyn.”

  “He knew I would be persuaded to come here?”

  The Elder shrugged. “I do not presume to know what is in his mind.”

  Tianoman changed direction. “Why are the streets suddenly intensely busy and why are folk tense? Aislinn tells me she noticed house to houses searches.”

  “Alik is missing,” Dechend mur
mured.

  “Missing? When did this happen?”

  “This morning. She will not be found inside Grinwallin, however, and my Lord Emperor is aware of it now. He is with her.”

  Tianoman nearly did bite through his tongue then. How could the Elder be so calm? “Speak plain, Dechend.”

  Another shrug accompanied the answer. “Teighlar went to her, my Lord, in much the manner he went to Torrullin on Avaelyn through the shield.”

  “Then why are your citizens still searching?”

  “It has become about hints and clues.”

  “To what?”

  “We need to discover who did this to her.”

  “Bloody hell, the universe is going to the dogs of a sudden,” Tianoman blurted, his fury beginning to get away from him.

  Dechend placed a hand on his chest and said quietly, “It will get worse, in my opinion.” He lifted that hand to his forehead, touched there and then sighed. “May I leave now?”

  “This damn shield isolates me, Elder! Can you not undo it?”

  “I am sorry, but the answer is no.”

  “Where are they; tell me that. Isolation means that right now I verge on stupidity.”

  Dechend inclined his head. “True. Very well. Torrullin was discovered in a manner suggesting death inside his home on Avaelyn …”

  “Excuse me?” Tianoman blurted.

  “… and Elianas summoned Quilla. They transported him to the Dome, and brought him back. The how and why of it I do not know. My Lord Emperor is at this time unaware of the development, but he would suspect, as I do, it is Tannil the Timekeeper pulling strings. Torrullin and Elianas’ home is destroyed, and most of us wait with trepidation for the fallout from those two. Nothing has yet occurred to suggest a seeking of retribution, but it will come.”

  “Their home … gone? Aaru, they will …”

  “Precisely.”

  “You no doubt suspect Tannil is behind that also. I would agree. What else? Where is Tristan?”

  “On Valaris with the Kaval. Tannil is sighted on occasion, but no action yet.” Dechend drew breath and frowned slightly. “This may not be pertinent.”

  “Tell me anyway.”

  “We have received reports of cities burning.”

  Tianoman grimaced. “Where?”

  “Random. One here, two there.”

  “Something ties them together, right?”

  “The manner of destruction, yes, and the choice of city.” The Elder leaned forward as if imparting a secret. Tianoman leaned with him. “Old cities, build in the manner of times past with stone and wall and gate. And the burning is of sorcery.”

  “Tannil again?”

  “Might be, indeed.”

  “Lowen had visions of destruction if the Timekeeper was to step forth. What you tell me now sounds much like what she saw,” Tianoman muttered.

  “That is another situation. Lowen has been with Alik for a few days now and is missing also.”

  Tianoman sat back. “It was Lowen he was after, not Alik.”

  Dechend murmured, “Could be. I hope so.”

  Silence from Tianoman.

  “I simply mean Teighlar will be less volatile if Lowen is the target.”

  Tianoman nodded and, after a few minutes of continued silence from that quarter, Dechend left.

  Avaelyn

  SABIAN, MASTER HISTORIAN, returned to his cottage in a forest on Echolone when they landed back in reality after Tymall’s manipulation in a place of nowhere.

  This time, however, he did not need Quilla to visit in order to prompt him into partaking in what would come next. The shiver of dread that overcame him as he rose with this particular dawn revealed something spectacular was about to come to pass.

  Without bothering with his morning coffee, Sabian went directly to Avaelyn.

  He had never been to the home of Torrullin and Elianas, but knew the location of it. He had never seen the dwelling that merged with rock and tree, and no one had seen fit to share, for there seemed to be a conspiracy amongst those who had visited never to tell, and yet he understood it had to be something special, for he understood the man Torrullin, if not Elianas … yet. Torrullin, given the expectations placed upon him, would seek out silence and isolation, with the natural order weaved in.

  When Sabian materialised behind the dark man kneeling in the earth to see the scar upon the landscape, he understood this home vanishing would hurt more than the vaporisation of Menllik.

  Something about the kneeling man drew his attention like a lodestone and great shudders ran over his skin. Sabian fell to his knees beside him. “Elianas.”

  No movement.

  Damn, he needed to secure this man’s attention immediately. Reaching out, he gripped Elianas’ hair and pulled.

  Elianas animated, swiping at him in fury. “What are you doing?”

  Sabian released. “Sorry. I needed to get through to you.”

  Elianas blinked at him and then looked away. “It is best that you leave now.”

  “Put that notion aside; I am staying.”

  “You will die here.”

  Sabian shook his head, having understood what the man intended. “No, and you need me to do this.”

  Dark hair swung his way.

  Sabian shrugged. “I may not know the sorcery you intend to unleash, but I do comprehend the result.” He pointed at the darkness before them, an abysmal manipulation. “Energy kept it alive, did it not, through the ages? Your energy?”

  A nod answered him, and those dark eyes were unblinking.

  “Tannil did that, am I right? He employed the energy weaving throughout this space. I can feel it and if I can, he did, particularly with the genetics he shares with you. You could have killed him, but you need him alive at this point, because you intend to employ what he took, using those same genetics.”

  Elianas looked away.

  “Restoration may happen, but …”

  Again the dark hair swung his way.

  “… it will remove your hold on energy. In other words, you intend releasing Alhazen. It will not kill you, of course, but it will really hurt, and it will take you into another realm. There you will be an immortal man, but no longer Alhazen.”

  Unblinking stare.

  “And yet you will do this for love of the man who built your home, the one who invited you into it, who shared it with you. He will be angry beyond all measure while you are gone, but, in your mind, he will at least have his home, am I right? This destruction, you feel, while not your doing, is your fault. Is Torrullin angry now, Elianas? Do you believe he blames you for what happened here?”

  “He does,” Elianas muttered.

  “Anything he feels now will be as nothing if you are no longer here.” The statement elicited no reaction and thus Sabian forged ahead. “This is where you need me. I do possess the gift of realms, after all.”

  Abruptly Elianas clambered to his feet. He pacing furiously for long moments before he hunkered. “You are able to retrieve me?”

  “I am.”

  Elianas’ eyes closed and he drew a long slow breath. “Can you retrieve Alhazen also?”

  “No.”

  Elianas opened his eyes. “Perhaps then it will be better to stay lost for a while.”

  “Tarlinn is able to retrieve Alhazen.”

  Utter silence reigned.

  Sabian spoke into it. “I believe at one stage in his development to Enchanter, Torrullin thought he was alone, until he realised he never was. Those who care are always there. It is the same for you, Elianas. You believe you are alone. Other than the connection you have with Torrullin, you think no one actually cares what happens to you. Untrue. You, Elianas the man, have many in your corner. Perhaps it is time to start asking for help, for there are many of us who will extend it without question.”

  Elianas rose and stood with his hands laced on top of his head. “It is hard to ask.”

  “Yes, I understand how that is.”

  “What do I do?”

/>   Sabian smiled. That was pure soul talking, and it was the real Elianas. “I know you will do this with or without help, and I also understand your window of recall narrows by the minute. How long do you have?”

  “No more than half an hour now.”

  “How long before you must begin the process in that window?”

  “Twenty minutes.” Elianas relaxed then and smiled at Sabian. “What can we do in twenty minutes to make this work? Thank the gods you came, by the way.”

  Laughing, Sabian stood. “Tarlinn is first on our agenda. I am assuming he is already aware of the situation, but I will nudge him anyway. You need the Dome. Get it here, directly overhead.” He squinted when Elianas frowned. “Is it not a truth that you are able to endure all because it continues to exist? It is a massive energy receptacle - yours.”

  The dark man gave a nod.

  “Use it. And …”

  “Not Torrullin. He will have nothing to do with this,” Elianas snapped.

  “Fine, and I will waste time arguing it. Elianas, please, wait until the appointed time. I will be back.”

  Elianas inhaled and released it calmly. “Very well, and thank you.”

  Sabian flourished a bow and left. As he did so, he hoped the dark man would keep his word.

  Valaris

  The Keep

  THE KEEP WAS DESERTED but for patrolling Kaval.

  Jonas and Amunti paced the battlements, Erin and Jimini kept the watch outside the Dragon doors and, no doubt, the others were around somewhere. Those present bristled when they marked his appearance, but they knew him and waved him on.

  Sabian discovered Belun, chin in hand, staring at the golden seat when he entered the Throne’s space. “Belun?”

  The Centuar jerked around. “Man, you scared me.”

  “Why are the Kaval here?”

  “Guarding against Tannil.”

  “And what are you doing?”

  The Centuar grinned and waved a hand. “Trying to fathom that.”

  “Good luck. Is anyone in the Dome? Elianas is about to pay a visit.”

  Belun’s eyes narrowed. “Tristan, with Caballa. Why?”