by Jeremy Dwyer
Lady Onora took the young woman by the arm and escorted her away from the approaching flames, and Ovid followed. They went to an area in a clearing while many other villagers scrambled to put out the fire that Kirdothet had started before he was sent away. The fire was fought successfully in some places – those closer to the village – but it took to the forested areas toward the east and spread quickly, rising high from the treetops.
“What is your name?” Lady Onora asked.
“Nerine. All I remember was singing a song, and then something came over me,” the young woman said.
“Tell me about the song, without singing it,” Lady Onora said.
“First, can you tell me why there’s a fire over there?” Nerine asked.
“Kirdothet started it – he wanted everyone to worship him, and threatened to burn to death those who didn’t,” Lady Onora said.
“I don’t believe it! Why would he do that? He is a loving protector!” Nerine said.
“No. He is arrogant and violent. Didn’t you ever see that?” Onora asked.
“He rescued me from robbers. They were going to kill me. How can I not see the good?” Nerine asked.
“The kindness he did for you doesn’t change the cruelty he showed toward others, or excuse it,” Lady Onora said.
“I can’t forget what he did for me. For that, I love him,” Nerine said.
“Evil seduces in the most powerful of ways. It can win your love with an act of kindness, only to blind you to its cruelty. You can ask anyone here and they will bear witness to Kirdothet’s anger and violence,” Lady Onora said.
Nerine looked around and saw that people were struggling against the fire, but some had gathered around her to hear what was being said. Their facial expressions confirmed Onora’s words.
“I don’t want to believe it,” Nerine said.
“Horrid truths are still true. Denying them will only make you ill, both in spirit and body,” Lady Onora said.
“Isn’t love what’s most important?” Nerine asked.
“Love of the One True God is what is most important. That must be first, and then you can turn to His Wisdom, and be willing to learn how to tell true love from false,” Lady Onora said.
“Who is this One True God? Where was he when I was being attacked by those robbers?” Nerine asked. She never had any belief in any deity.
“He was present and made a way for you to be rescued. He sometimes works through the evil of the world to bring good, so that even evil is made to serve His Will,” Lady Onora said.
“Why should I believe what you’re saying?” Nerine asked.
“You exist – no one here can create life. Only the One True God is the Creator. Now, you are awake and safe, as well,” Lady Onora said.
“What happened to me? Why was I not awake?” Nerine asked.
“You were under attack by evil spirits. It was your song that invited them in, no doubt. A prayer to the One True God was how I sought your rescue; however, He delivered you from them. I did not,” Lady Onora said.
“The song was called Fascinate Me. I sang the song to find knowledge,” Nerine said.
“What knowledge were you hoping to find?” Lady Onora asked.
“How to live longer…as long as I wanted,” Nerine said.
“You know that the ocean waters present a choice. Like me, you drank the waters of music. That’s what gave the song its power. Extreme long life comes from another water, that neither you nor I can ever drink of,” Lady Onora said. She could see the vial hanging on a chain around Nerine’s neck, and the classical symbols carved into the vial denoted that it contained the song waters.
“Who are you?” Nerine asked.
“I am Onora. Music is what I teach, and I know its power...and its danger,” Lady Onora said.
“Where is he? Where is Kirdothet?” Nerine asked.
“He is a creature of fire and he is where he belongs…in the sky with the other suns, rather than walking the land and bringing ruin,” Lady Onora said.
“Did you do something to send him away?” Nerine asked.
“Yes. My song, calling upon the power of the One True God, and energized by the ocean which He created, put Kirdothet in his proper place. If not, more people would have been murdered, and the fire would have spread even farther,” Lady Onora said.
Nerine was stunned and deeply saddened, because she had lost the only love she ever had. She wept bitterly.
“The fire that rages nearby testifies against his goodness. Do not weep that evil such as his was taken from this world,” Lady Onora said.
“All I felt was his love. Now, I’m broken inside,” Nerine said.
“You will heal. The Truth of the Creator will heal you and make you wise. Be open to it,” Lady Onora said.
Ovid recorded all that was said and done into his book. He only wished that he could have witnessed Nerine’s initial meeting with the fire creature known as Prince Kirdothet, so as to better understand the young woman’s affection toward him. This situation was clearly complex, and a full accounting of its earlier details may have been very helpful.
~~~
The ship on which Ryan, Liora and Cassius were traveling now sailed west across the Gradaken Ocean, after having passed over the Way of Raza’Deptorum land bridge. They approached the continent of Waderav from the east. When they arrived at the coast, however, what they found was incredibly dangerous: an enormous fire that had engulfed large sections of a forest in flames.
“Take to the air! Quickly! Before the fire leaps from the trees and catches the ship!” Cassius said.
Ryan converted the ship to an airship, elevated it to one hundred twenty (120) feet of altitude and steered it away from the burning forest on the northeastern coast of Waderav. Despite his skillful navigation and best efforts, a flame streaked through the air and part of the ship caught fire.
“A bit too late for that!” Ryan said, now worried about how to put out the fire.
“Help me put out the fire, while he steers the ship away!” Cassius said to Liora.
Liora and Cassius frantically took pails of water and poured them on the fire, but it spread across the ship’s deck boards very quickly and they didn’t have a great deal of water stored on board the vessel. It was ironic, Cassius thought, that in a world where water was both powerful and plentiful, that they should perish by fire.
Ryan steered the ship – now traveling as an airship, heading rapidly toward the northwest, crossing over the Uplifter’s Trail land bridge, the Nabavodel Ocean and the continent of Volaraden – as best he could, but the wind from their travels only swept the fire around. It seemed to abate at times, and to grow at others, but the airship was heavily damaged and progressively worsening.
“Can you bring the ship down to sea level and let the water cascade over it to extinguish the flame?” Cassius asked.
“No! With all this damage, the ship is more airworthy than seaworthy! And we can’t travel quickly at sea level!” Ryan said.
They traveled for an hour like this – in a constant battle with a fire that seemed to ebb and flow – but the damage to the airship proved too much.
Ryan was soon forced to bring the airship down on dry land in the Crypt Trail land bridge. He was well-trained, if not expert, in controlling the vessel in both airship and sailing ship modes. However, landing a damaged airship was a treacherous challenge for any captain. With extreme focus, he succeeded in touching down without a dangerous collision.
“This is a swamp. How are we going to get out of this?” Liora asked, clearly upset.
“On foot, my dear,” Cassius said.
“We’ll have to be quick about it,” Ryan said, as they all ran from the burning ship.
“Where are we?” Liora asked, after running for twenty (20) minutes and finally slowing down with the rest of them.
“I would estimate, based on our last heading, to be south of Baradaxa, along the Crypt Trail,” Ryan said.
“If you are correct,
then we must pass through this place quickly, and alert no one to our presence. It’s a place of death, and worse things,” Cassius said.
“What’s worse than death?” Liora asked.
“Don’t try to find out, my dear. You won’t like the answer. Move quickly, and you might not have to,” Cassius said.
The trio traveled by foot through the swamp and came upon two (2) men – one (1) in his fifties, one (1) older – who both looked like they had died. They were lying on the ground, but not bleeding.
“Is this the death or one of the worse things?” Ryan asked.
Cassius approached the unconscious men and touched each of them on their wrists, feeling for signs of life and counting the beats. “This man has a pulse…and so does this man,” he said.
“What happened to them?” Liora asked.
“Possibly a worse thing. This is a place of many spirits…they haunt the land, because they died here,” Cassius said.
“Why die here? I get why they’d be buried here. But die here?” Ryan asked.
“Murderers lure their prey into the swamps here and finish them,” Cassius said.
Liora wanted to say that it made perfect sense that Cassius would know that. She knew what he did, and she knew that he could do it again. She bit her tongue, not seeing a point in starting a battle at just that moment.
“Perfect place to hide. It’s dark, dreary, and the bodies could be hidden in the mud,” Ryan said.
“That’s not funny, Ryan. Please don’t talk like that. We need to leave,” Liora said. She didn’t want Ryan to have a dark side, or to see it if he did. She loved him, and was hoping that the love would soon bear fruit, if it hadn’t already. It would be some time before she could be sure, however.
“If these guys are alive, then what’s wrong with them?” Ryan asked.
“Perhaps they’ve seen a ghost,” Cassius said. He took out his ‘unhaunting’ stone and touched it to both men. It glowed blue, which was a hopeful sign.
The younger man woke up, stood up and asked: “Where am I? Who are you?”
The older man woke up, got onto his feet and asked: “What happened? How long were we asleep?”
“You weren’t asleep. You were under the control of spirits. Let’s leave, quickly, before they return,” Cassius said.
“Who are you?” Ryan asked the newly awakened men.
“I’m Daven. All I can remember was meeting a man here and then there was a song, and then everything went blank,” the younger man said.
“I am Guillermo. We were traveling this land in search of answers to the whereabouts of his parents. We had guides, but they were killed. Then, we met a man – an explorer – who told him of a song that would bring knowledge,” the older man said.
“I sang the song – it was called Fascinate Me – and it asked questions and invited challenges. It was a bold and daring song,” Daven said.
“A little too bold and daring, I would think, considering your circumstances,” Cassius said.
“You can tell us more, later. I don’t want us to end up like your guides,” Ryan said.
“Where do we go?” Liora asked.
“North. To Baradaxa. It’s a large and mostly rural continent, with numerous seaports. Our needs will be met, for the time being,” Cassius said.
The group of them – Cassius, Liora, Ryan, Daven and Guillermo – made their way north through the swampland of the Crypt Trail, hurrying past the skeletal remains they saw lying on the ground along the way.
CHAPTER 44: Seeking the Darkness within Stone
From within their hidden cave in Waderav, Hesperos and Abrax watched the nearby forest burn.
Pandaros was in the cave with them, but facing away from the fire while sitting on a stone and reading a book that he had carried with him.
“Pandaros! The fire is spreading rapidly through! When can we leave?” Abrax asked.
Pandaros did not answer his question but read aloud a verse from the book:
In the war which was never fought.
Victory by blood was never bought.
The generals’ goal was never sought, though not for lack of might.
The path of war was blazed.
The enemy fortress was razed.
The onlookers were amazed, until the fall of night.
The stone warriors tall.
Enough to conquer all.
Stand under shadow of darkest light.
An army forsaken and lost,
By battle plans mistaken at great cost,
Into a maelstrom all were tossed, cloaked from enemy sight.
“I know what this means now,” Pandaros said.
“That’s very interesting. But the fire does not serve the Quiet, and we need to move away from it!” Abrax said.
“Yes, we do. And now I know where we will go. Abrax: collect the luminaries and protect them under the darkness,” Pandaros said.
Abrax took the candelabra with the six (6) luminaries and drank anew of the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean from his vial. He was energized with the powers of darkness and cloaked himself and the candelabra.
“Where are we going?” Hesperos asked, already knowing the answer from having read Pandaros’ mind.
“Where the great stone statues of warriors stand along the greatest path, ready for a war never fought,” Pandaros said.
“Someone is approaching!” Hesperos said.
“Abrax: stand back, remaining quiet in the darkness, and protect our prize at all costs,” Pandaros said.
Hesperos then drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He reached out with his mind and carefully probed the thoughts of the approaching man. “He is one of us. A fellow explorer named Telamon. A drinker of the Nabavodel waters. He found the marker that we left in the mausoleum and knew that it meant to come here,” Hesperos said.
“We will join him, and leave with him,” Pandaros said.
~~~
Telamon was thirty-four (34) years old and immensely physically fit, partly by his natural endowment and largely from his years of travel as an explorer. He sought the Quiet, and knew that it was not here. The fires that burned around him presented no threat, as he easily outran them and no flicker or flame could move so quickly as to surprise him. More than his physical fitness, however, it was actually the Nabavodel Ocean waters that he drank which gave him sufficient speed to move safely through the burning forest, nimbly avoiding the conflagration.
However, even though this was not a place where he could find the Quiet, he believed that the other explorers could be found here, by the marker he had found in the mausoleum in the Crypt Trail. He knew how to properly read their secret codes, and there was no mistaking the direction it gave.
Telamon approached the cave and saw a pair of men standing in the opening, as if they were ready to leave. When he arrived, the oldest among them – a man in his late forties – greeted him, saying: “Join us, fellow explorer Telamon, as we leave this place and seek the Quiet.”
“I am Hesperos. It is I who knew your name by reading your thoughts,” a younger man said.
“I am Pandaros. We are not alone; yet, the one who hides in darkness must remain so, until the proper time,” the man who first greeted him said.
“Where are we to go?” Telamon asked.
Pandaros took some of the bones lying on the cave floor that were left over from earlier sacrifices and arranged them to form symbols.
Telamon read them and knew what they meant, and that any other Explorer of the Quiet Sea would also know, if he should arrive.
Pandaros led the way out of the cave and Telamon, Hesperos and Abrax – who was still hiding in the darkness with the candelabra of luminaries – followed him.
The group of explorers made their way swiftly toward the seaport in the north of Waderav and booked passage on a vessel – paying only six (6) platinum coins, as only Pandaros, Telamon and Hesperos were seen by the crew of the ship – heading toward the Colossal Mar
ch Warpath land bridge.
They sailed for one (1) and one half (1/2) days southwest, then northwest, across the Nabavodel Ocean until they arrived in a small seaport on the northeastern extent of that land bridge. The group then disembarked from the ship and made their way inland.
Wherever they looked, they could see hundreds upon hundreds of giant stone statues – those known as the colossals – standing about. Each was approximately one hundred (100) feet tall. Some had the faces of men while others had the faces of gargoyles.
The land – like all of the land bridges of the world – was mountainous and the colossals stood at different elevations. Caves dotted the sides of the mountains and rough roads wound around and up their slopes.
The land was not deserted by any means, however, as many traveled here to see the great statues and admire them. Students of art and Chroniclers of the Oath were numerous, with many drawing sketches of the statues into their books. Small villages were filled with merchants who capitalized on the interest in this location, selling hand-carved replicas of the statues made from diamond, glass, wood or even stone.
Such was the interest in the subject that some bards had written songs telling the tales of the war that never was, and of the colossal statues who stood ready to fight it. The songs recounted versions of the legend which held that the colossals were alive in the distant past, over one hundred (100) millennia ago. One such bard – whose bland voice was clearly not enhanced by the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean, or they were extremely impure if he drank them at all – performed a song which Pandaros and his fellow explorers could not help but hear as they walked through one village. The lyrics were thus:
Hear this truth of the ancient war,
Fought not by man alive.
For man is merely dust,
In flesh and blood they did not trust,
Upon them death is too soon to arrive.
Then warlords carved from stones,
Colossal heroes of the day.
They set their sights on rule of lands,
And seas, so all the giants’ hands,
Fought by general’s commands,
Serving hungry thrones.