Elves: Beyond the Mists of Katura

by James Barclay

  ‘Immortality has its curses.’

  Chapter 29

  Those who entertain the possibility of defeat will always suffer the reality.

  Auum, Arch of the TaiGethen

  You are making the right choice. I am certain Auum will forgive you.

  Takaar had moved quickly, resting and eating sparingly, following the trail left by Auum and his ill-fated force. Word had reached Julatsa of considerable numbers of Wesmen landing on the northern and southern beaches, moving inland towards the colleges. No doubt they would skirt Xetesk in the south and lay siege to Lystern. It gave yet more impetus to his mission.

  ‘And if Auum does not, you will get what you want: I’ll be dead.’

  I really can’t lose.

  Night was full and the shadows were deep in the gently rolling land to either side. Takaar’s ears picked out all manner of sounds: animals, birds and the rustling of breeze across grass but no enemies. His eyes pierced the darkness easily though his long vision was denied him by the night. He’d stop soon, eat and rest for an hour before pushing on until dawn gave him a clearer view of his progress.

  You must be very satisfied. Here you are, after all this time, running to save not only the elven race from invasion but humans from destruction too. An opportunity for redemption worth waiting a thousand years for.

  ‘You make it sound as if I sat around wasting the intervening years. Just look at what I have achieved.’

  In Il-Aryn terms a great deal. In terms of elven harmony almost nothing.

  ‘I care nothing for that.’

  Oh, but weren’t you credited with its creation?

  ‘And look where it got us. The hatred never died; it just festered in our souls. Even I accept it was a mistake. You cannot force such things on people, they have to evolve.’

  You’re admitting a mistake?

  Takaar didn’t answer. Auum’s trail was going to take him across a river at the mouth of Triverne Lake. He wondered if he should follow, if the passage of a lone elf would go unnoticed if enemies were still waiting there, as Stein had claimed.

  Travelling this side of the lake brought him closer to the colleges and he couldn’t afford to be seen until he had reached his destination. Takaar stopped. Several figures rose and moved towards him. He had thought them a tumble of rocks, so still had they been.

  Oh dear.

  ‘I will not die here,’ said Takaar, letting his mind seek the energies needed to create a killing force beneath his enemies’ feet.

  ‘You cannot cross the river. The enemy is waiting.’

  Oh. Your deserters. Do you think they’ve come to finish the job they lacked the courage to finish at the manse?

  Takaar flapped a hand at his tormentor for silence while he oscillated between anger and relief.

  ‘Gilderon,’ he said. ‘Tired of your personal quest, are you? Taken to thieving on the plains of Balaia instead?’

  Gilderon led the Senserii to Takaar and they knelt before him, their ikari held in their right hands and away from their bodies. Their heads remained bowed while Gilderon spoke for them.

  ‘We seek your forgiveness. You saved us and gave us purpose yet we thought you had lost that purpose. We were wrong. We should have trusted you, had faith in you. We are sorry and wish only to serve as your guardians once more. Please hear us.’

  ‘How did you find me?’

  ‘We overtook a wagon carrying Auum’s wounded to Julatsa. They had recent contact with Kerela, who told them the path you were travelling. Our first task was to ensure you did not cross the river. So we waited. Your safety is everything.’

  That must swell your ego to previously unheard-of proportions.

  ‘They are the lost seeking a path, just as before,’ said Takaar.

  They are betrayers who deserted you on the eve of a great discovery.

  ‘I discovered nothing.’

  You discovered your own purpose, which is why we are here. You needed them then and they were gone. They will do it again.

  ‘Still your babbling,’ spat Takaar. ‘You sow this poison because you fear that with their aid I might actually survive.’

  That is their purpose.

  Before him, the Senserii had not moved. They among all elves accepted him and his tormentor and never questioned. Yet his tormentor was right: they had abandoned him in a dangerous country to go and join Auum, whom he hated above all elves. But what was he doing but making the same journey now? Takaar smiled inwardly. Who had been right and who wrong if the conclusion was identical? They awaited his mercy or his wrath and they would accept either without flinching.

  Oh, how it must pain you, the agony of such decisions. Decisions such as only the gods can make and be assured they are right. You know what you have to do, what you always do to those who betray you.

  ‘You have my forgiveness and my gratitude for admitting your error and seeing clearly to your true path, which is at my side for the greater glory of elves.’

  His tormentor screamed inside him. The Senserii rose and he allowed them to kiss his hands.

  You think mercy is a godlike quality and indeed it is, but it must be meted out correctly, as must punishment. And you have not done so. You will never be among gods; you do not have the wit or the wisdom!

  ‘Mercy is always wise.’

  That’s an assertion you might want to save for Auum.

  They would be off the mountains today and down among the foothills in Wesman lands. It didn’t matter that the dangers there probably outweighed those of the snow, ice, wind and rock; elves were not born to these conditions and knowing they would soon become memories had lifted everyone’s spirits.

  They ate a spare breakfast at first light before readying themselves for the last leg of the journey. Rith came and sat beside Auum.

  ‘You saved all our lives,’ said Auum. ‘Bless you.’

  ‘I didn’t come here to garner compliments.’

  Auum chuckled. ‘I’m sure you didn’t. What’s on your mind?’

  ‘What happens if the Wesmen turn us down?’

  Auum was surprised by the directness of her question and had to pause to gather his thoughts.

  ‘Well, we’d be out of options. No choice but to go home, prepare and pray.’

  ‘But you’re not considering that eventuality.’ Rith didn’t smile. ‘No, of course you’re not. But even if they do listen to us and rebel, what then? Even without the shamen to aid them, who is strong enough to take on the Wytch Lords?’

  ‘Has this been keeping you awake at night?’

  ‘I just want to be able to reassure the Il-Aryn that we’re doing the right thing.’

  Auum nodded. ‘It’s the only thing to do, Rith. We have to believe the Wesmen don’t want to be in thrall to the Wytch Lords, and if we convince them to rebel, we’re most of the way there. And Ystormun and his cadre? Well, that’s where our Julatsan friends come in. Human magic must defeat them. Stein says there is a way and I trust him.’

  ‘But it doesn’t solve the problem with Dawnthief.’

  ‘No, it doesn’t. But it means our people are safe in their homes, at least for now. One step at a time is all we can make.’

  Rith nodded but Auum could see she was unconvinced.

  ‘We must have faith,’ said Auum. ‘And belief. If you think of a better plan, don’t keep it to yourself.’

  At last Rith smiled. ‘I won’t.’

  Outside the barrier the snow had abated but the wind was still high. Stein was relying on it dropping enough to allow flying as they moved down the ice shelf. It was critical that it did. Merrat had reported that the drop at the end was sheer for more than a thousand feet. The face was possible to descend but realistically only for the TaiGethen.

  Auum walked with Ulysan at the rear of the group on the journey across the plateau to the ice shelf. It was a strange landscape, snow-blown and with hundreds of small rounded peaks, like fingers or capped chimneys, some no taller than an elf. They wove in and out of them, headin
g west under a partially blue sky and in a wind that, though still strong, was no longer gale force.

  ‘I will not miss this cold,’ said Auum.

  Ulysan nodded. ‘Nor I.’

  Auum sighed. He’d been setting Ulysan up for the entire walk and the big TaiGethen’s voice had remained flat.

  ‘I am almost afraid to say this, but the one thing I wish for right now is to hear one of your appalling jokes.’

  Ulysan shrugged. ‘They’ll come back.’

  ‘Anything I can do to help?’

  ‘Nothing you haven’t already done.’ Ulysan shook his head. ‘You know, for a moment I was back there in that hole in the Arish complex. I could even hear the rush of water . . . and my brother’s scream. I looked, but it was dark and then I saw you and you had my hands and you brought me back. I’d have fallen without you.’

  ‘But I was there and you didn’t. Don’t you forget you owe me.’

  Ulysan said nothing. Ahead, the group was gathering at the edge of the shelf. Before he joined them to look for himself, Auum could see the tension in many bodies, and when he saw it, he could understand why.

  It was vast and a blinding white that left him wishing for cloud. Its far edge was lost in the horizon and it stretched to either side as far as he could see. The near edge behind which they stood resembled a sculptor’s vision of a wave rearing in the sea before crashing in on itself. It must have been formed by the prevailing wind blowing loose snow up the incline and freezing it to ice. It was spectacular but also a distraction from the dangers beyond it.

  Merrat and Grafyrre had been depressingly accurate in their assessment of the slope. It looked to Auum to be twenty degrees from the horizontal and was smooth and treacherous for the most part, punctuated sparingly by low ridges of ice like ripples caught on a frozen sea.

  ‘Is there no other way down?’ asked Rith, standing near Auum and next to Merrat.

  ‘In all likelihood there is, but can we stay here until it’s found?’ replied Merrat. ‘Just take it slow. It’s not as bad as it looks.’

  ‘Right!’ called Auum. He hopped over the wave form and felt the shine of the ice beneath his boots. He turned a gentle half-circle and came to a stop. Balance would not be so easy for others. ‘Here’s the method and all who want to live should follow it.’

  The group gathered, eager to hear his words, wishing to miss nothing in the wind, which Auum guessed was still too stiff for flying though it was easing. The shelf was something over half a mile wide and the time it took them to traverse it might allow the wind to drop enough for Wings of Shade. They were taking a considerable risk that it would.

  ‘Those of you who are confident enough to walk, do so slowly and try to butt your toes against the ice ridges you find as often as you can. Do not lean back as you are more likely to fall and slide. Carry at least one knife in your hand, one in each if you have them. Should you fall, dig the blades in to stop you sliding. Don’t trust to anything else. You’ll gain speed fast and there is no fence at the bottom.

  ‘Those of you who do not wish to walk, sit with your legs forward and move yourself with hands and feet. Again, knives in hands. If you have no knife, ask a TaiGethen. Stop when you’re told to and wait to be lifted from the shelf. Do not be tempted to look over the edge. If you think it’s difficult here, it is far harder down there by the precipice.

  ‘Take your time. We have all day. Any questions?’

  There were none.

  ‘One more thing: the TaiGethen will walk behind the rest of you,’ said Auum. There were murmurs of dissent and Auum held up his hands. ‘I know how it sounds but think about it. From behind we can see you slip and slide and we can get to you and help you stop. Ahead of you, we will not see you go, only know you have fallen. Which way carries the greater risk to you and us? Yniss is with us. And now we pray.’

  Auum was surprised to feel more fear on the slow, slippery walk than he had on either of the far more dangerous climbs they had undertaken. Ulysan, walking by him with knives clutched tightly in his hands, was staring at his allotted Il-Aryn with a fierce fervour.

  Auum didn’t blame Ulysan for the way he was dealing with the trauma he’d suffered yesterday, but he needed his friend back and he felt helpless to make it happen. He had said Ulysan needn’t have any Il-Aryn to watch but he had refused. Auum prayed none of them fell.

  They made steady progress. The wind blowing up the slope was helping keep the pace slow and giving people the confidence to lean forward over their feet as they walked. About half the Il-Aryn and mages had chosen to walk, and while a few had slipped and fallen early on, there had been no panic and confidence was growing gently and quietly.

  Two thirds of the way to the edge, Merrat came over, moving fast, his feet sliding across the ice in gentle sweeps. Stein, who with Tilman was walking next to Auum, clapped his hands.

  ‘Now in my country we call that ice skating,’ he said.

  Merrat dug in the sides of his feet and came to a walk by Auum.

  ‘We should have ice on Calaius,’ he said.

  ‘I can live without it,’ said Auum. ‘Is there something on your mind?’

  ‘Are your people being watched by others?’ asked Ulysan.

  ‘By Graf and Merke, my friend.’

  ‘Good.’

  Ulysan nodded and returned to his staring. Auum shook his head but kept his words to himself.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked Merrat instead.

  ‘We’re all so concerned with getting off the mountain that we haven’t spoken about what comes next. Which way will we go? Who will we try to find? We’re about to be afforded the best view of the Wesman lands we’re going to get. Let’s not waste it, that’s all.’

  ‘Ulysan, you coming?’ asked Auum.

  Ulysan shook his head. ‘Someone has to stop them if they slip. Someone has to be there to grab their hands.’

  ‘I understand,’ said Auum. ‘Stein, we need you. Come on, Merrat, this is your idea . . . and no skating.’

  A short while later the three of them sat near the edge of the dizzying drop down to the Wesman lands, feet braced against ice ridges and knives in hand just in case. The ground below appeared full of jagged rock spears pointing up to impale them as they descended. Beyond them the ground was less wild but remained doggedly rugged, dominated by mountains and high hills in the distance and shot through by an overwhelming bleakness.

  Smoke rose from the fires of several small settlements perhaps a day’s walk from the base of the mountains, and smudges in the air further afield represented the smoke and dust of larger towns, perhaps even a city. Auum could see goats and cattle roaming the hills searching for grass and roots, but the mass movements of armies he had half expected to see were absent.

  ‘So, Stein, what do I need to know?’ he asked.

  ‘All right, a few main features for you. I’ll start with Parve, the seat of Wytch Lord power. It’s almost straight ahead, way to the west of us. You might be able to see a dual line of low peaks. The Baravale Valley passes between them and points to Parve.’

  ‘I can see the smoke of the city,’ said Auum.

  Stein looked round. ‘Your eyes are really that good, are they?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Auum. ‘What else?’

  ‘Wytch Lord influence radiates out from Parve, but on the western coast there is plenty of resistance. That’s too far for us to go. Do you see the lake backed by mountains to the south of Baravale? Of course you do. Well, that’s Sky Lake and the Garan Mountains.’

  ‘Garan?’ asked Auum. ‘That’s . . . ?’

  Stein smiled. ‘Oh yes, of course, the army commander who became Ystormun’s pet experiment in immortality.’

  ‘Takaar said Ystormun was trying to make an elf out of Garan. He was the first human that didn’t deserve to die.’ Stein shuffled back half a pace from the edge. ‘Your ancestor was the second.’

  ‘Anyway, moving on.’ Stein cleared his throat. ‘The further east you come, the more open the triba
l lords are to us, though it’s a relative thing. They still hate us but they will trade with us. There’s a settlement at Sky Lake and two or three further south where you might be heard.’

  ‘Do you have any particular names in mind?’

  ‘Well, there’s Gorsu, whose tribe occupies the lands nearer Baravale, but he’s bent the knee despite his avowed hatred of his masters. There are others . . . Kiriak in the south but he’s weak, Lantruq of course and perhaps Sentaya. He’s a vicious bastard and quite likely dead by now.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Merrat.

  ‘The Wytch Lords aren’t keen on dissension. Reportedly his shamen have access to the Wytch Lord fire but, last we knew, he was refusing to take his people from the fields and arm them.’

  ‘We’ll try him,’ said Auum.

  ‘I don’t know. I’d have gone for Lantruq. Strong leader, plenty of warriors and shamen still under his control.’

  ‘Where are his lands?’ asked Merrat.

  ‘You see the tree-covered hills south of Sky Lake? He’s there.’

  ‘He’s where we go after this Sentaya,’ said Auum. ‘I want to make a statement to Ystormun. Show him we can take his power from him. Kill his shamen if they won’t turn from him. Then we get Lantruq and we have a real force behind us.’

  ‘It won’t be that simple,’ said Stein. ‘What can you promise either of them?

  ‘An end to the Wytch Lords and freedom for their people.’

  ‘Oh come on, Auum, you can’t promise that. No one can.’

  Auum stared at Stein. ‘I have beaten them once. I can do it again.’

  ‘Yes, you defeated one Wytch Lord a long way from the base of his power, with the help of considerable magical talent.’

  ‘And with us are more mages, Il-Aryn and greater talent.’

  ‘Auum, you don’t understand. You can’t beat Ystormun or any Wytch Lord from a distance. My ancestor trapped him in a ring of magic and even then all he could do was diminish him. He isn’t going to travel to Sky Lake; he’ll just turn his shamen on us.’

  ‘When he knows I am here, he will come.’