"This sect of the O'Baarni realized that while someone was passing through the doorway to another world, their bodies and minds briefly touched the same place the three Gods dwelled. At first the Gods did not realize what the O'Baarni knew, and they were oblivious to the small experiments their creations were doing to see if they could end their travel in the Gods' domain. It wasn't until thousands of years later when the O'Baarni had inhabited all the worlds and wanted more power that the final conflict came to be.
"Not everyone could use the Radicles, only this specialized sect could use the devices to send themselves or a few through. Soon they invented a method to allow anyone to pass through. It involved sacrificing an Elven, then casting their mind and skull in a block of tempered amber. These globes carried power far beyond what the humans had seen before. The invention of these Ovules allowed massive armies of humans to climb into the realm of the Gods and wage a war for power."
"The Gods struck against their creations by making terrible creatures of destruction. First, they crafted demons that dwelled deep in the depths of each planet. These creatures possessed a hunger to kill all life that wasn't a God and harnessed the Elements almost as well as an O'Baarni. They reproduced quickly and the O'Baarni found themselves defending their own worlds from this horrible threat instead of challenging their Gods." I nodded and felt the fear of the empress's words. Demons were most certainly part of the legends I learned as a child. Although, in the tales I had heard, they inhabited a hellish land and were the polar opposite of the benevolent Spirits of our loved ones that watched over us.
"Hundreds, maybe thousands of years passed while the demons, O'Baarni, and Elvens fought. Eventually it appeared that the O'Baarni and Elvens would win the war, so the Gods crafted their final warriors. They made this last race almost as powerful as themselves and they gave the creatures intelligence that surpassed that of the O'Baarni and Elvens. They wanted these creatures to be their generals, so they gave them free will and the ability to create their own races."
"That seems like a bad idea," I said.
"It was. Their last race was dragons. Horrible winged serpents with malevolent intelligence and ruthless cunning. At first they served the Gods and organized the last of the demons. The O'Baarni were pushed back and lost entire worlds of population. Then the O'Baarni began to win again, and the Gods questioned their creations. The dragons betrayed their creators, much like the humans, and they all sought to inhabit the realm where the Gods lived."
"Weren't the Elvens betrayers as well? Since they were allied with the O'Baarni?"
"Yes and no," she replied with a smile that seemed to indicate she wasn't upset at my interruption. "We were created to serve humans. We loved our Gods, but were compelled to follow the instructions of our masters." I nodded at her words but I believed she was omitting parts of the story that might reveal her people were not entirely peaceful.
"At last, the Gods began to lose and it appeared that the O'Baarni would smash into their world and attempt to murder them. In the final hours, T'Orend contacted a small group of Elvens on the original world and begged them to retreat deep into the core of the planet. The God gave these Elvens instructions to live for a hundred years and then reemerge to become stewards of the land. To exist peacefully, and to watch over humans as protectors. These Elvens did not question their God; they just did as instructed and retreated within the belly of the planet.
"When they finally came to the surface, they found that the world had changed dramatically. In places where there was once land, there was now sea. In places where there had been sea, there was now desert. They discovered Radicles overgrown with foliage or under water, unable to be used. My people prayed to their Gods and asked for guidance but no voices returned. They were alone, this small tribe of Elvens, but they vowed to do as T'Orend asked and become stewards of the world."
"What of the O'Baarni, what of the dragons and demons?" I asked.
"The Elven tribe found humans. They had no recollection of what had transpired. They did not have the power of the Elements at their disposal anymore. Also, perhaps because the Gods were now dead, or perhaps because the humans forgot their place, the Elvens found no compulsion to follow their commands."
"How did they know their Gods were dead? Maybe they were just refusing to answer?" I had been so focused on her story that I forgot to take more than a few bites of my duck. I did so after my question and the food was still pleasantly warm.
"Part of T'Orend's words seemed to indicate that their time had passed and it would be up to the Elven people to herald in a new age of prosperity. This was perhaps ten or twenty thousand years ago, on a completely different world than this one where you and I currently dine. But since that time there has been no contact from any of our Gods. So we call them the Dead Gods."
"What about the demons and dragons?" I asked again.
"Demons have been spotted a few times, according to our history, but they do not seem to be as powerful or intelligent as the legends led us to believe. Perhaps the passing of the Gods diluted their power as it did with the humans. I will speak of dragons soon." I nodded and nibbled on a bite of the multicolored salad that accompanied the duck. The empress refilled her wine glass and then topped mine off before continuing.
"This became a dark period for our people, as well as for the humans. Our kind chose to abandon or destroy the knowledge we had acquired by serving our masters for so long. We decided that the best way to protect the humans was to enslave them and make sure that they never learned of the magic that their ancestors possessed. Our single tribe split into hundreds of other tribes, then grew and multiplied over the years until we came to be the complete owners of the land." The empress had only eaten half of her duck but seemed to be done with the entrée. She took a healthy swallow of wine and then filled her glass again.
"Then there was Kaiyer."
"He fought your people?" I already knew the answer but I couldn't keep myself from asking.
"Yes. It is surprising how little is actually known of the man. Granted, it has been more than five thousand years since his time, but there were no statues or paintings of him, nor stories of how he ended up reviving the powers of the O'Baarni. There is not even an account of how he came upon the ancient name of his people. From my research, I believe that a few humans actually did remember their ancestors and carried the histories by spoken word so it couldn't be eradicated by their Elven masters. Some may have even had the powers but kept them secret."
"Kaiyer said that Elvens gave him his powers. They wanted to create warriors to attack the other tribes." My lover had not spoken too much of his past, but he told me that much during our stay in the warm cave so many months ago. I still didn't want to think that he was dead.
"I find that hard to believe, but it may be possible. Much of our history of that time was lost. The statements I make to you now are the closest to the truth that we have, but they may not be entirely accurate." I nodded and took my first sip of the rose wine. It was delicious and I found that I drained half of the glass quickly.
"These new O'Baarni were not as powerful as the masters of old. They could use the Elements, but lacked real skill with it. Of course, the O’Baarni of the past had many thousands of years of experience with the magic. Still, my race had forgotten the lessons that T'Orend taught them, most even forgot their Dead Gods' names. So when Kaiyer began to build his army and destroy small tribes, the majority of my people did not take the threat seriously. It was a horrible folly." She shook her head and frowned slightly.
"One woman did understand the risk. She was a Singleborn of great power and the daughter of an influential tribal leader."
"Singleborn? What is that?" I asked.
"Forgive me Jessmei; I forgot that you have no experience with our people. When we birth children, it is always two or three at a time. The children often, but not always, possess opposing traits of the parents. The Gods designed us that way so that we would be strong. For example, the
woman you met a few nights ago with the white hair, skin, and black eyes is my sister. We were born from the same woman's womb within a few minutes of each other. Our father is the same. You might not see any similarity in our appearances, but the Elven people have a heightened sense of smell and it would be apparent to any of my kind that we are siblings." I tried to keep my face impassive when she mentioned the woman who had killed Kaiyer. The scene played over again in my head like some macabre stage play rehearsal.
"Very rarely, perhaps only once in hundreds of years, a single child will be born from a mother. These children are much more powerful than most of our kind and have a different, arguably superior, way of thinking. They are revered amongst our people. They are also feared, as the birth of a Singleborn portends great change.”
"How many years can Elvens live?" I wanted to eat more of the duck but my stomach was close to full and I imagined there would be other courses.
"You are perceptive, Jessmei." She smiled at me and leaned back slightly. "Our kind normally do not live much past three, perhaps four hundred years."
"Is there one alive now, in your army?"
"You are jumping a bit ahead of me, Princess. I will answer that question soon." Her smile widened and her pleasure seemed sincere.
"This Singleborn woman was named Iolarathe. She appealed first to her father, then to other tribal leaders to form an army to stop Kaiyer's new O'Baarni. Though she was a Singleborn, the tribal leaders refused to listen to her. They didn't believe that humans were dangerous. She had two other siblings, a half-brother and half-sister who were born together. Eventually the three of them managed to persuade the Elven leaders, or perhaps the threat had reached the point where it could no longer be ignored.
"The Elven tribes tried to form one cohesive army to crush these new O'Baarni, but each tribe had their own vision of how the army should operate, and Iolarathe struggled to unify them. She wasn't allowed to lead the army at first, that role was given to one of the other tribal elders. Kaiyer's forces grew, and each victory increased their strength while weakening the Elvens. Finally, Iolarathe and her siblings were given control over the Elven race and they began to battle in earnest."
More servants entered and cleared our plates before placing lit candles on the table. Small bowls of chilled limes, oranges, and tangerine slices covered in mint leaf shavings were set before us and the empress continued her tale.
“But Kaiyer and his army could not be stopped. It was too late for the Elven people. The most Iolarathe’s efforts did was delay the coming genocide. These O’Baarni did not care for diplomacy, they did not want our surrender, they wanted our complete and utter annihilation. Their soldiers murdered millions of Elven people, including elders and children, even newborn infants.” She grimaced and looked down into her bowl of fruit. I wondered if she cared for the human children her soldiers had harmed during their invasion.
“Iolarathe grew desperate and made a rash choice, out of what I’m sure she believed was necessity. Perhaps it was. There was a dragon remaining on their world, sleeping deep in the crater of a desolate volcano. Our leader struck a bargain with the monster to secure her assistance in the final battle with the O’Baarni.”
"What was the deal?" I assumed this was the question that Telaxthe wanted me to ask.
“We do not know. The history is unclear. We do know the Elven people were angered by her decision. Most feared the price asked by the dragon would be too dear for them to pay and resented her for putting their existence in the hands of such a vile creature.
“When the day of the final battle came, the might of our army clashed with the O’Baarni. When the battle was at its peak, three horrible dragons swooped down from the sky and instantly laid waste to a fifth of Kaiyer’s forces. Nothing had prepared our people, nor the O’Baarni, for the power of these creatures. In the next few seconds, thousands more O’Baarni were incinerated. The Elvens gave a frantic cry of awe and joy and felt that perhaps there was now hope for their continued existence.”
She paused dramatically and smiled at me. I realized my mouth was hanging open, and I closed it with a snap. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment and busied myself with finding a spoonful of fruit that had equal amounts of each variety. Finally, Telaxthe continued.
"Kaiyer was powerful, almost a force of nature in combat, and had earned the name of the Destroyer. I believe that even the old O'Baarni, with all of their thousands upon thousands of years of knowledge and ability would find it difficult to battle a dragon. Yet he destroyed one, then another within minutes. The third managed to flee and with its retreat our hopes were crushed. The rest of our army was routed and scattered to the winds."
"But some escaped? You are here now obviously," I said as respectfully as I could.
"Yes. Perhaps we owe that to Kaiyer. All that his army needed to do was chase down the few Elvens that remained, less than three thousand or so, but that is when he betrayed his people."
"I heard this from Kannath's men. Two of Kaiyer's generals were lovers?"
"Yes. Shlara and Malek were his best. Perhaps it was the achievement of his victory, or the influence of the dragons, or maybe he had been insane the whole time he was building his army. No matter the cause, almost immediately after the battle, he killed Shlara and fled from the army."
Servants broke the conversation again and placed plates of simple chocolate cake with thick black frosting before us. The scent alone made my mouth water and I easily forgot that my stomach was getting full. As with the courses before, a new glass of wine was poured, but I could tell from the small bottle of dark liquid that they decided on a port to accompany the cake.
"The O'Baarni army was in chaos and they lost the motivation and organization to finish their extermination of our kind. Instead they reeled from the betrayal of someone who had become almost a deity to them. Malek and Kaiyer's other generals tried to find him, to bring him to justice, but it took them many years. In the meantime, our people escaped."
"Through the Radicle?" She hadn't mentioned if the Elvens could use the gateway.
"Eventually, but first we had to recover and lick our wounds, find and unite our scattered people and develop a plan. Unfortunately, Iolarathe could not be found after the battle, and her half-brother had been killed. The only person left to lead our small population was her half-sister, Nyarathe. I am a descendent of her blood," she said the last part with pride I had not heard before in her voice.
"While searching for a way to beat Kaiyer's army, Iolarathe and Nyarathe had found ancient texts that gave us a better insight into the workings of the Radicle. Dozens of years passed, the Elvens living in the shadows while the O'Baarni took over the world. She was planning a mass exodus to another planet when they found out Iolarathe had been captured, along with Kaiyer. Nyarathe planned to save her sister, but there wasn't enough time, or enough Elven power to overcome the O'Baarni. Please, try the cake."
I realized I had been so absorbed in her tale that I had ignored the dessert, despite its tempting aroma. I was imagining Kaiyer, my Kaiyer, doing all of these things, and I could not fathom the sweet man I loved was capable of committing such atrocities. I knew he was powerful, but he was not evil. If he had done this, I knew there was a reason. He had warned me about the Elvens and the way they had enslaved and controlled humans for generations. I had witnessed this in my own kingdom and time. I reminded myself to remain objective, despite the food and drink the empress was plying me with. She was telling the tale from the Elven perspective, and was clearly biased toward her people and intent on convincing me of their righteousness. I would not be deceived.
She smiled warmly at me and lifted her fork before cutting into the moist dessert and taking a bite. I followed suit and found it to be richer than I imagined. I grasped the small glass of port and managed a small sip of the powerfully sweet liquid. It warmed my whole body and made the dark chocolate take on a slight rum flavor.
"Iolarathe was executed by the O'Baarni, burned on
a pyre while Kaiyer's generals watched. Apparently they even let their Betrayer watch her die, which I'm sure must have been the last piece of enjoyment that he ever experienced."
"What did they do to Kaiyer?" I said after I dabbed a piece of chocolate from my lips with a cloth napkin. Chocolate wasn't as good as lovemaking, but it was very close. I had almost finished my single piece and would ask for another.
“He was sentenced to be executed after Iolarathe, but they never carried out this sentence. Though thousands of years have passed and there are dozens of different accounts, I have concluded that the Destroyer was one of the last masters. Perhaps he escaped the final, mysterious acts of our Dead Gods and was older than anyone knew. Or, perhaps he knew how to harness the Elements in a way none of his people understood. Of course, it could just be that the stories have been exaggerated over the years of their telling. That is how history becomes legend.” She smiled and took a final bite of cake."This was too good. I want three more pieces. How about you?" She grinned mischievously and it reminded me so much of Nadea that my heart warmed.
"I think my stomach would be terribly upset if I ate three more slices, but I would gladly have another." I returned her smile and we both giggled.
This woman's sister killed Kaiyer. My mind's voice cut off my giggle and I stifled a sigh.
"Bring us the remainder of this cake. More port as well," the empress said to no one in particular, but the door opened almost immediately and we found the cake laid between us and our small glasses filled with the dark liquor.
"Some of the parts of this legend are surely fantasy." She shooed her servants away and cut two large pieces of the cake, placing one on each of our plates. I noticed that she got a bit of chocolate frosting on her thumb and sucked it off, almost exactly as Nadea would have done. "The most fantastic said that Kaiyer's power grew suddenly, and he turned into a dragon more massive than the two he defeated many years before. Other accounts say that he harnessed magic more powerful than anything that his soldiers had ever seen; killing thousands of them. Some accounts claim that he pulled the moon into the planet, destroying half of the life on the world. The truth was that he escaped and killed many of his warriors. I don't know how many, but I guess thousands."
The Destroyer Book 3 Page 43