The Redemption of Wist Boxed Set: Books 1 - 3: The complete collection

by David Gilchrist

The back of her head still hurt, but there was no sharp agony anymore, just a dull ache to join the rest of her pains. Then her thoughts returned to the metal bar inside of her. The self-loathing that accompanied them threatened to overwhelm her. She should have fought harder. She should have escaped. She should have been more vigilant. She should have stayed at home in Mashesh.

  But these thoughts fled from her mind like the clouds that skirted by overhead, but the hatred did not leave her. No, the hatred stayed with her and she was sure that it would never leave. So, she used its heat to cauterize her spirit, to fuse herself with a purpose.

  She wanted to get something out of this creature, and she knew that was better off informed than ignorant, so she forced down her abhorrence and spoke. 'The place you took me from,' she said, trying to hide the bitter edge of her voice, 'did it have a name?' The Intoli made a noise, a strange rasp.

  Aviti glanced at the unending parade of trees. Inspired by something that she remembered Nikka, the Cerni saying, she announced to the trees. 'I am Aviti, daughter of N'tini and Mabon, brother of Cairn.'

  Getting nothing but silence in reply, she continued. 'I grew up in a farm on the outskirts of Mashesh, which lies deep in the Great Desert of Tapasya. It was a marvellous place, Mashesh I mean, but so was the desert. I used to look out upon it; across the limitless dunes. But now that's all gone. The Lyrats came and raised my home, my city to the ground. It's a burned and blackened hole now. My family too, are all dead. The Lyrats finished what time and disease had started.' She paused, looking at the sun rising towards its zenith. Then she shivered against the permanent chill in the air of this land. 'But I do not blame the Lyrats,' she continued. 'They were fooled into becoming weapons for a cause that was not their own. Tilden was the root of the poison.' Fear made her stop talking for a moment. In unburdening herself, she may have given away more than she had meant to. But what did that matter now?

  'And now this place looks the same as Mashesh and Tapasya must, full of broken lives. But it is worse here.'

  Her temper flared anew as she thought of the men that had pulled her here. 'Slavery?' spat Aviti at her captor in sudden accusation. 'I would rather be killed.' She stopped on the road, full of determination. She thought of Tyla and felt his oblique presence in her mind. 'If you intend to make me your new pack mule, then kill me now.'

  The Intoli stopped too. Its shoulders drooped, moving the bow to rest lower down its back. 'I do as my Queen requires. To save the Source, we must all make sacrifices.'

  As the Intoli turned to look at her, Aviti realised that this creature was female. There was the impression of a chest and softness in the lines of her face. Her height and slight build had concealed it from her. Aviti should not have been shocked, but she had always associated cruelty and malice with men.

  'Save the source, what source could be worth this?' Aviti was outraged. 'And Sacrifices? Forcing others into slavery and destroying a land may be a sacrifice, but do not pretend it is yours.'

  The Intoli looked down upon Aviti. She was a hand taller than Aviti, perhaps as tall as her brother. The Intoli's features changed – the thin mouth tightened and the elongated eyes softened from their precise lines. Aviti cursed, this thing smiled at her!

  'When your spirit has helped preserved the Dhuma for a century, then you may speak to me of sacrifice.' Any trace of softness was gone from the Intoli's face. 'Come now.' Aviti felt a pressure in her chest. It emanated from the brass bar in her shoulder and increased with each word the Intoli said.

  Without knowing more, she could not make a stand. Aviti was not sure whether she believed herself, but she started off behind the Intoli once more. 'Tell me,' she said 'where are we going?'

  The Intoli regarded her for a heartbeat and then another. Then it said, 'The humans call it Nisthaven.'

  Aviti considered the name for few moments as she walked. She knew that the name of the town or village they went to was not important, but the Intoli had given her the human name. She thought for few moments more as she staggered through the muddy trail and the she asked, 'What is your name?'

  The Intoli did not answer. She moved her shoulders from side to side and lifted her bow higher, trying to find a comfortable spot.

  'If you are to drag me around this land like a slave then at least let me know whom I should curse.'

  'Sevika,' said the Intoli.

  Aviti stared at the back of this Intoli, this Sevika, as they walked towards Nisthaven. The innate grace in the Intoli was like a hollow echo of Tyla. Tyla's physical power gave him his lithe prowess; Sevika's lay in her timeless poise. So Aviti used the hypnotic rhythm of Intoli's stride to help her. She matched Sevika step for step, watching the sway of the Intoli's robe.

  They passed tree after tree in an endless procession and Aviti wondered why they were all the same. No two of the small number of trees in Mashesh were the same. Here it was just one sharp-needled tree after another. She hated them. Every time she brushed past one, her skin crawled and resentment rose unbidden. But each time her temper started to rise, Aviti would touch her connection to Tyla, and her bond to the desert man would react, sending subtle indications of support to her - giving her enough strength to pull herself back under control. Until the shimmer of ice in the bond made her retreat from it

  They came to a break in the forest as the afternoon began to wane. Just as they reached the summit of the third or fourth hill, the trees parted and allowed them to see their destination. It was a small village, but still bigger than the previous one. They were about a league from it, but they would have to cross a stream, which ran through the town. If they were lucky, they would reach it before nightfall.

  Then the ground beneath them trembled as though the world feared the future. Sevika stopped and looked at Aviti as if she had caused it. Fear or uncertainty flickered across the Intoli's face for the briefest instant, but then she turned away, expecting Aviti to follow.

  Aviti was about to speak when a convulsion threw her to the ground. She jarred her head as she fell, reigniting the pain from her earlier wound. The constant ache from her shoulder had rendered it meaningless until now. She sat up and saw the Intoli through bleary eyes. The tall creature was on her hands and knees, searching for something.

  The bar, she thought. It was the brass bar that allowed the Intoli to control Aviti's magic, but even as she thought it, the chance was gone. So, she refused to be annoyed with herself. She still might be able to use this to her advantage.

  'What was that?' asked Aviti. 'What happened?' The Intoli did not answer. She stared past Aviti and into the east.

  Aviti turned from Sevika, who stood with the sun at her back. There, over the trees, it came rushing; a mass of black corruption, a distortion of nature so profound that Aviti senses did not accept it at first. She rubbed her eyes time and again. But she could not scrub this vision, the image of wrong from her sight. It was as if a black spot burned into her eyes. And it rose into the sky, this mockery of the sun.

  Then it halted. As if robbed of its purpose or the will that drove it, it stopped and sat in perfect symmetry with the sun; the true sun.

  'No, no!' exclaimed the Intoli. 'The Arkasona was meant to stop this...'

  To Aviti it was an unimaginable horror. She stared into black sun, letting it capture her soul. It was loss and grief incarnate; a chasm that could entrap everything: hope, joy, meaning. If she fell through that hole, it would take the future. Somewhere distant she recognised pain; real pain in a real world, that for her, no longer existed. It burned and gnawed at her flesh. But the darkness swallowed it.

  Then Aviti's world exploded as something connected with her face. Aviti stumbled back, but did not fall this time. The world returned in a flood of colour and sensation. Doom still hung in the sky, but it did not bewitch her now.

  'What is it?' asked Aviti holding her face.

  'I do not know,' said Sevika. 'It appeared... days ago. This, acceleration... And the tremors. I...' The Intoli's voice trailed off. Sharp l
ines appeared around her eyes, her mouth tightened and her brow dropped.

  'We move now,' said Sevika. 'We must flee this Kalsurja.' The Intoli glanced at the disc and then turned away. Aviti acceded without a word. The less time she spent out under the gaze of the black Sun the better.

  Despite all her injuries and hurts, Aviti raced down the slope towards Nisthaven. This time she travelled alongside the Intoli, both of them desperate to reach the town before the sun set and left them to the mercy of the black orb. When Aviti stumbled, she felt Sevika's hand under her arm, but she shrugged off the Intoli. It was not a childish gesture she told herself. How could she accept the aid of a creature that held her leash and that of an entire people?

  The question was beset with others. If they were powerful enough to subdue all the inhabitants of a land, then how could she hope to escape? And where were Tyla and Nikka and Wist? She knew Tyla was alive. Their bond, forged in the crucible of pain, told her that, and more. She knew that he moved to the west of her, but it told her nothing of the others. She should ask Sevika where Dregan was, but until they were under shelter, she concentrated on moving.

  They forded the river where it bent away from the village and the land dropped down to allow an easy crossing. As she put her foot onto the first stone in the riverbed a vision of the White Corb rising up to wash her away came to her. Tyla had saved her then, but he was too distant now. She had to save herself. Not from the river, but from these Intoli.

  They reached the first building in Nisthaven as the sun touched the tree line on the western horizon. She glanced back for the first time to see the black disc. It followed the same path as the sun, she realised, trailing behind it like a sinister echo. It was not yet at its full height, which would happen in an hour or two, if it kept its current pace.

  This village was in a better state than the last one. Perhaps its people had put up less resistance or had been overwhelmed before they knew what they faced.

  Before long, they encountered more Intoli. They moved from building to building, busying themselves, moving or using their slaves. Each time they met Sevika, the Intoli gave a signal. Aviti guessed it must be a salute or some sort of deference, but by now Aviti was too tired to care. All the hurts of the past few days overtook her and now she shambled along.

  Just when Aviti thought she would collapse, Sevika turned into a massive wooden building. It was a plain, basic structure. It spoke to Aviti of purpose and use; a storehouse perhaps. It stank of oil and wood. Sevika pointed to Aviti letting her know she was to go in. The Intoli's regal air of command had returned.

  So, she walked through the huge wooden doors that were propped open with an Intoli guard on either side. Inside the doors was a single empty area. Sawdust lay scattered everywhere and lines were scrapped across the coarse wooden floor, like a Giant's veins. The only object in the room was a desk, bathed in the last rays of sun from a huge window at the back. Behind the desk sat a single figure. It rose as Aviti approached the desk and for a second, she thought she saw a man. He was larger than Sevika and his immense presence filled the room. Aviti's shoulder gave her a lance of pain beneath the bandage as this Intoli bared the edge of his teeth.

  5 - Fuel The Hate

  As the sun came up, Wist's company set off. The black sun, or Ghria Duh as Haumea had christened it, sank a few hours before, relieving some of the tension in the company. Now they careered down a rubble-strewn valley, which formed the approach to Creidas. The town sat on the eastern side of a wide river and there were three stone bridges allowing access to the town from the west. They headed for the southernmost. They passed a few farms and homes on the western side of the river, but these had the look of recent abandonment; places once loved and cared for, set aside reluctantly. The fields on this side of the river were stripped bare of whatever they had contained. Now weeds and wild plants fought for control.

  As they drew close to the bridge, Wist saw that to the north of the town, and on both sides of the river, there were a large number of canvas tents in various states of disrepair. They resembled the abandoned farms they saw at the entrance to the town.

  He ran his hand over the ragged bandage around his wrist as they walked onto the bridge. Nikka sighed with appreciation as he looked at the stonework. He made a comment to Haumea about it, but Wist couldn't shake off the thought of it falling down, as if the imperfections in its structure were visible to him; imperfections that lay in wait for the slightest push to expose them.

  'They have been here for centuries,' said the Giantess, 'not so long a time in the eyes of the longer-lived folk, but a long time before my birth.'

  'Let me guess,' said Wist with a sudden bitter twist, 'the last bridge fell down about three centuries past.' Haumea looked either astonished or confused, but Wist turned away before she could ask her question.

  'The Sundering' Aviti's father had named it. It was the rupturing of the land, caused by Wist return to his natural time and place. It had all been triggered by Tilden's failed attempt to kill him over 200 years ago in this world, or a lifetime in another. Evidence of the Sundering was here in Pyrite too; the occasional exposed lump of bedrock; subtle signs of ancient failure.

  Soon they arrived in the town, where they were greeted with stares and inquisitive looks. Haumea shouted merry greetings to those that she knew, asking for news of events or exchanging pleasantries. Almost all the Giants were either armed or armoured, or both.

  Everyone seemed content to ignore the three strangers that accompanied Haumea. The other Giants may have assumed that they were prisoners and, surrounded by so many of these powerful beings, wasn't that truth?

  All of the Giants that they saw were much taller than Haumea. Their size made Haumea look like a child. There were also a few olive-skinned men who scuttled to and fro with menial tasks; cooking, cleaning, shifting equipment. The humans displayed a raw determination. Mere exhaustion no longer daunted them.

  Then they passed an odd group: five large Giants, all huge and robed in simple dirt coloured garments. They held open, blue earthenware bowls containing what looked like water. These Giants sprayed it on each other in a quasi-playful way, but their grim miens spoiled the scene. Wist thought about speaking to one of them, but before he could form his question, Haumea informed him that they were Priests and he lost interest in them.

  Then they were at their destination. Three massive tents stood surrounded by a scattered pile of rubble. The middle tent stood higher than the other two and it was decorated with painted skins and floral designs, giving the structure a living, breathing aspect. It was as if it had burst from the ground and destroyed the previous structure. This must be the leader's tent. From here, he must command his people.

  Haumea walked up to it. Out in the hills her strides were measured, but here they were tense and the unevenness of her gait was exaggerated. She approached the two Giants posted outside the tent and said 'I must see Ionracas.'

  The first of the two Giants scoffed. 'Haumea says she must.' This brought a chuckle from his comrade. 'So, what is this you brought for the Glaine? Some stragglers? Guests who refused to leave? Or are these more refugees, the last that slipped through the grasp of the Intoli?'

  'Take them to the camp.' said the larger of the two. 'It is empty now, or near enough. Let them take their pick of what their fellows' left behind.' The Giant dismissed them with a wave of his massive spear.

  'No,' said Haumea, flushing a mottled red colour. The bigger Giant smiled, but the other stayed motionless. 'I mean these are no fugitives of the war. A dark-skinned and pale-skinned man. And here is a Cerni.' The talkative guard shuffled. Before he could speak, Haumea rushed on. 'And they came from the south.'

  This revelation had a greater effect than Wist had expected. The second Giant held a hand out indicating that they should wait. They nodded, and the Giant went into the tent.

  After a few nervous moments, he returned. He commanded them to leave their weapons, so they put down what little carried. Tyla placed
his Katana on the floor along with a couple of small throwing knives and a longer hunting blade. Wist had nothing to leave, so he stepped aside and let Nikka put down his hammer. The Cerni looked at both the Giants, and then he stepped back. Then Haumea lumbered forward and led them into the tent.

  The first thing that hit Wist was the smell. Leather, smoke and sweat filled his nose. A small fire smouldered at the rear of the tent and a few torches burned in holders attached to the huge wooden struts that held up the canvas. Two Giants sat on rough wooden stumps, which served as seats, arguing over a map. The larger of them sent the smaller out of the rear of the tent. The Giant that remained seated was a huge figure. It was difficult to gauge his height, but he was over twice the size of Wist. The Giant's leather armour was adorned with brass buckles and fastening; each one of them unique and shaped in perfect harmony with its purpose. A huge blade, shaped with a single blackened, straight edge hung from his belt. The Giant ran one hand that resembled the stump of an oak tree over his braided hair as he took in Wist and his companions.

  'Haumea,' he said. 'You have brought guests. Where are your manners?' Must I introduce myself?'

  Haumea's cheeks reddened once more and she dropped her head. 'My apologies. This is Ionracas, Prime Glaine of Tiseach. Glaine, this is Nikka, Tyla and Wist. They have come from across the southern Sea, from Tapasya.'

  'They have lost two of their party. They seek our help.'

  Ionracas sat motionless, examining each of them. He lingered longest on Nikka, pouring over every detail of the Cerni. Then the Giant walked to the rear of the tent to warm his hands over the embers of the fire. Ionracas stood there with his armoured back to the company and Haumea, and shifted his weight from one foot to another.

  Not so long ago Wist would have been daunted by this being. He was as intense as Eliscius, his former mentor, had been. But thoughts of Eliscius inevitably led to Tilden and from Tilden they led to murder.

  'We need to get to Medicaut,' snapped Wist, 'the city in the mountains. Do you know it? How do we get there?'