The Orphans' Promise

by Pierre Grimbert

  The injured rat stood up with great difficulty and cried out, showing its strength to the others. Another crossbow bolt stuck right through it, and still the rat was just as aggressive.

  The vampires realized their prey were powerless against them and began closing in on the heirs.

  Yan needed air. Right now. He felt like his lungs would burst at any moment. He knew that if he didn’t start his ascent immediately, he would end up breathing in water and drowning.

  Usul had spoken to him, though. Usul, the god. He Who Knows. So Yan hesitated to swim to the surface, and this moment of indecisiveness could have sealed his fate. Maybe this was what people meant when they said the danger of curiosity, a thirst for knowledge so great that it could lead men to their death.

  Suddenly, the yearning for air vanished. Yan floated in the darkness, no longer debating whether to swim to the surface. He sank back down, and his feet touched the sand again. He stood there in shock, thinking he had drowned, wondering if he were truly dead or in a state of complete delirium. Could he have imagined Usul’s voice, a final delusion before his death? He no longer knew if it was in fact all a dream.

  Humans are so predictable, the god stated, regretfully. So boring. Not a single one of you has made it this far without having the same thought. No originality.

  Yan opened his mouth to answer, forgetting for a moment where he was. Water rushed in. By reflex, he spit it back out, surprised it didn’t cause him a coughing fit. Then he remembered that he was breathing underwater against all the laws of nature.

  Do you hear me? he thought, feeling ridiculous. Are you the one who’s keeping me from drowning?

  Of course. Do you have that power? Obviously not. The rest of the world is off-limits to me, but here, I am master. As such, I advise you not to do anything to make me change my mind.

  Yan was having a hard time digesting all this. Had he really just started a conversation with a god? It was the most incredible thing he had ever experienced.

  Where are you?

  You want to see me? Usually humans regret asking that. Are you sure?

  Yes.

  Good! This will be entertaining.

  Yan’s vision clouded as the water brightened. He wondered if it was really becoming lighter or if just his perception was changing. It didn’t really matter, either way.

  The walls turned golden, as if the well were dug straight into a vein of the precious metal. He realized the well ended in an underwater cave, as he had expected. The cave was at least as large as the base of the hill above, but with his distorted vision, he couldn’t be sure. He scanned in all directions, searching for Usul.

  At first he thought the cave held no trace of life, until he spotted some sort of fish in the distance. He continued looking around, without detecting anything else. He turned back toward the approaching fish. Yan screamed a cry silenced by the still water.

  The creature looked small at a distance, but up close, it was enormous and terrifying. It was a Talanté shark, more than ten yards long. The predator swam straight at him, only to swerve to his right at the last possible moment, leaving Yan paralyzed in fear.

  Sharks don’t live in freshwater! he yelled in his mind, as loud as he could.

  You’ll just have to believe what I already said, then. I’m all-powerful here, Usul mocked.

  Yan tried to calm down. Apparently, the god didn’t plan on killing him. Not right away, in any case.

  Is that really what you look like?

  The god paused before answering, Do you really wish to ask me that question?

  I don’t understand.

  I’m He Who Knows, or so humans call me, he recited as if it were a rehearsed speech. I have always known the destiny of everything in this universe. But my knowledge has a price. If you want answers, you have to earn them.

  How? Yan asked, worried.

  By entertaining me. I suffer the most dreadful boredom any thinking spirit has ever known… time is my true prison. I watch each day go by, like a grain of sand dropping into an eternal hourglass, and I always know how the grain will fall. The humans that come to see me are my only source of the unexpected.

  Yan watched the shark-god circling him. As he listened to Usul, he discreetly made sure he was still tied to the rope.

  Only people who know their destiny are able to modify it. They’re the only agents of the unknown. And the unknown entertains me. For each question that you ask me, I will give you two answers. The second will reveal something about your future.

  If you’ve always known the future, how can it change?

  Because it becomes uncertain as soon as it’s revealed. It’s possible to stumble into your ordained destiny even though you were trying to avoid it, or hoping to change it with all your heart. Anything that involves myself remains completely unknown to me. I was expecting your visit, but I don’t know how it will turn out. When you arrived, the future misted over, for you, for me, for your friends, and even for a significant part of the rest of the world.

  What if I don’t do anything? If, despite your revelations, I act as I always have, just as before?

  You can’t do nothing. As soon as you know, you act differently. Not doing anything is still doing something.

  Yan tried to gather his thoughts. He was going to have to select his questions very carefully. He had no desire to be burdened with this curse of human knowledge more than he had to, a curse whose nature he understood completely now.

  I understand the rules, he announced internally. I accept. Let’s begin.

  Grigán sprinted out in front of the first few vampires and butchered three with a single swipe of his blade. But other rats attacked him just as ferociously.

  Bowbaq took it on himself to protect Corenn and Lana behind his spinning mace. A few rats fell into the well, and Corenn couldn’t help but think of the danger Yan would face if these beasts could swim. The situation was already desperate enough above ground that she could hardly focus on Yan for now.

  Two rats lunged up and clung to Bowbaq’s arms, scratching and biting him. He tore them off with a groan and broke their necks in his powerful hands. From then on the vampires stopped attacking him this way, but it wasn’t going so well for the other heirs.

  Grigán had thrown himself into the heart of the battle, tracing a bloody circle in the vampires’ ranks. The creatures were so voracious that they relentlessly clung to his every limb, biting and clawing, even when they were severed in half. Their teeth pierced his leather armor, and their claws found their way between the plates of protective metal underneath. It took Grigán only a few moments to fell fifteen of the beasts, but he had received more than thirty wounds, large and small. He retreated toward Bowbaq.

  Léti and Rey fought side by side, protecting each other. Firm footing, the young woman thought as she sent one of them flying with a kick. Sharp mind, she told herself as she sliced two rats that were standing too close to her with a single strike. Steady hand, she finished, as she impaled a beast in midair that was flying toward her throat.

  Concentrating on Grigán’s lessons helped her to stay calm in the heat of battle. She let the battle rage overcome her only once, at which point her fury for combat surpassed her skill and she exposed herself too much. She recovered quickly and collected herself to fight more effectively, more skillfully, and with a control that surprised even her.

  It soon became obvious that they wouldn’t get the upper hand. Seeing Grigán retreat, Léti did the same, followed by Rey. The rats waited to launch another attack, regrouping as they had before, circling their prey.

  “They’re going to end up feasting on each other, right?” a breathless Rey asked the group.

  Like his friends, the actor was bleeding from many wounds on his arms, legs, and face. A rat carcass still clung to his calf. With a curse, Rey painfully ripped the tenacious rat from his skin and tossed it toward its brethren.

  The surviving vampires sniffed at the carcasses and then violently seized them, slurping the
blood of the dying and injured—a horrible sucking sound coming from the piles of dead rats.

  “There are more coming,” Léti warned in a broken voice.

  Grigán had seen them too. They had fought off an army of fifty rats, but there were at least two hundred more climbing the hill, galvanized by the smell of a feast.

  “They won’t be satisfied with the carcasses,” Bowbaq commented, surprisingly calm.

  Grigán grabbed the lantern and lit the second one.

  “Try to light a fire,” he said as he grabbed a dead vampire rat. “A large circle of flames around you.”

  “Grigán, what are you doing?” Corenn asked, worried.

  “I’m going to buy us some time!”

  And he walked away with slow strides, carrying the lantern in one hand and the carcass and his scimitar in the other. The rats smelled the blood as he walked by and turned their heads toward him. Two beasts took off after him, and then ten, thirty, and then nearly the whole vampire swarm followed behind, enticed by the chase.

  “Come back, Grigán! I beg you!” Corenn pleaded, almost in tears.

  But the warrior was already out of earshot.

  What is your first question, young human?

  Yan reflected on his choices, his heart racing. He didn’t want Usul to reveal anything too important about his future. He decided to start with a simple question, to judge how dangerous Usul’s responses would be; the question that had brought them to the Sacred Island in the first place.

  Where is the journal of Maz Achem of Ith, Maz Lana’s ancestor?

  Easy. The answer won’t be extremely useful to you, so I’m only going to reveal some minor event about your existence. You will take your friend Léti in Union.

  Yan had difficulty managing the shock. All sorts of emotions flooded his mind. That was a minor event? What would the other revelations be! Take Léti in Union? The future changed once it was revealed! Would this happen or not?

  He now understood Usul’s curse perfectly well. He had an urge to swim back up to his friends right then, to carry on a normal life with a future full of the unexpected. These same friends were counting on him, though. Usul was their only chance at finding the information that could help them survive. Survive, yes, but with a tortured mind…

  Where is Maz Achem’s journal? Yan repeated, trying to master his emotions.

  In the secret archives under the Grand Temple of Eurydis, my sister, in the Holy City of Ith. I could give you the exact location, but I’m sure you’ll find it if you go there.

  How ironic! Lana had traveled thousands of leagues looking for it, and the whole time it was right under her nose. Ith would definitely be one of their next stops.

  Yan considered asking if the journal really did contain valuable information, but decided against it. He had to be more direct. The price for answers was too high. He decided he would ask just two more questions.

  Where does the portal on Ji lead to?

  An important question! the god commented, to Yan’s despair. “Since the answer concerns all humans, I’m going to reveal an event that involves the future of many. But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook: Your future is inextricably tied to this event. Your actions could profoundly alter it. I’ve rarely met a human with such an influential destiny.

  So what is this important revelation? Yan quickly asked. The shark’s proximity was making him increasingly nervous and impatient. He couldn’t understand how a god could get any entertainment from taking such a form, but it was clear that Usul tried to amuse himself however he could.

  What you call the known world will soon be torn apart by a bloody war. None of your peoples will be spared from it. Both the Kaul Matriarchy and the Upper Kingdoms in general will bear the brunt of it. It will happen in less than a year.

  A year! But a war between who? And why?

  Are those questions you really want to ask?

  No.

  This conversation was agonizing. Yan felt a furious urge to hurt this spiteful messenger. Then he remembered where he was, who he was, and who was swimming in front of him.

  Here’s your answer, Usul continued. What lies on the other side of the portal is Jal’dara. Or Jal’karu, if you prefer.

  And? That’s hardly any information!

  The answer is more than sufficient. I warn you. In asking about portals, you’re asking me to directly reveal the secrets of the gods. We have no tolerance for sacrilege. I promised I would answer, and I have. Do not push me.

  Yan didn’t need him to repeat it. Maybe it really was sufficient after all. Lana had mentioned Jal’karu before as the land where demons are born and grow up. Their quest was taking a hopeless turn.

  I have only one more question. But before I ask, I would like to know what you’re going to do to me afterward.

  I’ve decided to let you go back up. You’ve been insolent several times; however, the role you will play in determining the future is significant enough to have sparked my interest. I’m even going to offer you a gift. Do you accept?

  What is it?

  You won’t know until the moment is right. Do you accept?

  Is it a revelation?

  No.

  All right, I accept, Yan stated, nevertheless worried he might regret it immediately.

  The shark approached him slowly, as he had done several times before. This time he didn’t swerve around him, though. The young man forced himself to not move. The predator did nothing more than brush against him, sliding his whole body along the young man’s left arm.

  There. It’s done.

  What did you do to me? I don’t feel any different.

  You won’t know until the moment is right, I said. Ask your last question.

  The young man gathered his courage. It was his most important question. Who sent the Züu after us?

  Hmm… that’s too easy. My answer will help you a lot. It will cost you dearly, very dearly. Are you sure you want to know?

  You aren’t going to announce my own death, are you?

  No, no. That lost its fun a long time ago. It’s something else. Do you accept?

  Go ahead, Yan answered, his heart beating out of his chest.

  Your friend Grigán will die within a year. Now that you know, what will the future be? I wonder…

  The news floored Yan. He hardly heard Usul when he announced their enemy’s name. It suddenly seemed much less important.

  Bowbaq helped the exhausted young man climb out of the well. Léti, Rey, Corenn, and Lana circled around him, anxiously waiting to hear his revelations. Yan saw the circle of flames they had lit, the rat carcasses, and the red eyes shining on the other side of the protective fire.

  “Where’s Grigán?” he asked, worried.

  Léti burst into tears, and Lana brought Yan over to the inanimate warrior. He suffered from several cuts, a few that were frighteningly deep. They covered his body and even his face.

  “Is he dead?”

  “Only unconscious,” Corenn answered in a trembling voice. “He practically sacrificed himself for us.”

  “He’s sick,” Rey added. “A few of those beasts had strange eyes. The wounds won’t kill him, but we must bring him to a healer as quickly as possible to be treated for poison.”

  Yan nodded his head sadly, knowledge already cursing him.

  Corenn finally asked, “Did you see Usul?”

  “Yes. Our enemy is Saat the Treasurer.”

  “One of the original wise emissaries to Ji?” the Mother gasped, in shock. “He’s still alive…”

  Yan sat next to the warrior and stared at his body, saddened by the sight. He didn’t feel like talking now. But he had so much to tell them…

  SHORT ANECDOTAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE KNOWN WORLD

  Alt – The largest river in the known world. Its headwaters are located in the highest of the Curtain Mountains. It crosses the Ithare Kingdom and the Grand Empire before reaching its delta in the Ocean of Mirrors.

  A Goranese legend claims that
when the time has come, the dead will float down the river in gigantic phantom boats and take revenge upon those who have committed atrocities toward their living kin. Every once in a while, someone claims they’ve seen the vanguard of the dark army. Some harbors even refuse all embarkations after nightfall.

  Apogee – The moment when the sun is at its highest point: noon, in our world. It’s commonly accepted that the end of the third deciday marks the apogee.

  Arque – Native of the Arkary Kingdom. It’s also the main language spoken in this land.

  Bells (of Leem) – At one point in time, Leem experienced such a crime wave that the city seemed to be completely overrun by thieves, pillagers, arsonists, and murderers of all shapes and colors. Although the city doubled the guards’ night rounds, and then tripled them, the criminals remained untouchable, since they were too well organized.

  The provost at the time then came up with the idea of installing a bell in the house of each of the most prominent people in the city. When these important people were threatened by or witness to a crime, they could ring the bell and the city guard would come right away. Most of the time it wasn’t quickly enough, with the villains fleeing the scene the moment the first strike sounded. But it was still better than before.

  More modest citizens followed this example, and soon there were quite a few artisans and merchants who had equipped their shops with a bell. After a few years, there were so many bells in Leem that crime nearly disappeared.

  Unfortunately, the criminals found a countermeasure: setting fire to each house that dared to ring its bell, as an act of vengeance and as a warning.

  Today, there are still more than six hundred houses in Leem fitted with bells, but now the bronze only rings during the occasional festivity.

  Brosda – A divinity whose cult is especially widespread in the Kaul Matriarchy. Brosda is the son of Xéfalis, and Echora’s reflection.