A tear rolled down Teran’s crimson cheek. He removed the canvas and replaced it with another, this one showing an agonized fae in a collar.
“The demons experimented on their captives, twisting them with spells and their own dark blood, and through those experiments they created me. Then through myself and another, Shaelin, they birthed the elves. Not just the wood elves, but Golden, grey—every kind. They used the elves to forge weapons and armor. They taught us to use magic. We clad ourselves in our creations and they turned us against the fae. We had advantages over the demons in battle. We didn’t require the deep magics to survive. We were easily organized. Our leaders didn’t need to compel us to obey like they did the lesser demons. Ignorant of our origins, we slew the very fae beings from whom we were descended.”
Teran paused. He retrieved a wooden bowl and drank from it. He cleared his throat and wiped away more tears. “I am sorry, but this story is difficult to tell. I have told it many times, and it is the only story I seem to know; the only one the guardians of the Well ever want to hear.”
Teran smiled—a small, sad thing.
“We were good at killing the fae. We broke them, and we built our greatest city in this valley. For our masters, we dug the Well and used its power to hunt the fae into near-extinction. Soon, they held only a few small enclaves against us.
“That is when we learned the truth. I led the group of warriors that captured one of the last fae, Jesindra, Yanleh’s daughter. We found her in a dark canyon, similar to this one. We had chained her and were about to kill her. Jesindra never screamed, never cried out; she only prayed. I can still hear her prayers. Drunk on our success, we laughed at them.
“We laughed and cursed her until her prayers were answered. In the instant of her death, Jesindra’s spirit swelled into pure Light, filling the canyon, flowing into each of us.” Teran looked at Dain. “The feeling was akin to the Light you draw upon, Paladin. A mighty warmth anchored in your chest that spreads outward. It seemed like it had a will of its own, and that day in the canyon, the will of the Light showed us the terrible truth. All of it.
“With the Light’s aid, we showed the others,” Teran continued. “And then, when we were strong and the time was right, we took our vengeance. We slaughtered them, the demons. We’d grown fierce fighting their war, more fierce than even they, and we drove them down into this Well and took the source of their power as our own.
“Once our cruel creators had been subdued, we spread out across the world’s farthest reaches. Elves scattered in every direction, taking the knowledge we’d gained with them. We built cities of our own and founded kingdoms and dynasties. Through the long ages we befriended other races—including the followers of Palatine—as allies against the demons and fought orcs and trolls and other creations the demons sent against us. To protect the Well, I remained behind. A number of elves stayed with me. We built the temple and the wardings. I have never left this place.”
Dain and his children sat in stunned silence. He wasn’t sure how much of the story he believed; it went against most of the teachings he’d been given, but much had these last few years. Teran certainly seemed to believe it wholly.
“Can you still draw on the Light, then?” Dain asked, breaking the quiet that had fallen over the room.
“No,” Teran said with a shake of his head. “Jesindra’s spirit left me after we captured the Well.”
Convenient, Dain thought, very much so. He exchanged a glance with Jin. She shook her head slightly. She didn’t know how much to believe either.
“Why are you here?” Teran asked. His long, pointed brows furrowed as if the thought had just occurred to him. “You haven’t mentioned your purpose, and I’ve never had more than one or two guardians come at once. Teldrain stopped coming closer than the outer door years ago, and if he didn’t tell you I was down here and what my purpose was, there would be no reason for you to go further. Unless simple curiosity brought you down…or perhaps a thirst for the power?”
“Could we draw from it?” Luren asked. “Could we use the Well to defeat our enemies?”
“Once, perhaps,” Teran answered, studying her, “when the waters were pure and clean. But the demons saw to that. The lords threw the bodies of their dead into it and fashioned spells to allow them to take from the Well without destroying themselves.”
“Teldrain sacrificed himself along with the city to stop the golden elves from invading,” Dain said. He stole a look at Jin, and she nodded. “We are here to protect the temple and the Well. Demons are coming. A golden elf named Koren leads them. She’s bonded somehow to a demon lord, we believe.”
“Bonded to a demon,” Teran mouthed. “That doesn’t seem possible. The demon lords were all banished. We drove all of them from this world.”
“Possible or not, that’s what is headed here, and she’s got a pack of those beasts with her. They’ve been searching for the temple for weeks now,” Jin said.
Teran’s frown deepened. He turned back to the painting he’d been working on.
“I haven’t left this temple in thousands of years. I am both guardian and prisoner, and my only purpose is here, but I have dreams. Images showing me glimpses of what occurs or what might occur in the valley. It is a kind of resonance between the valley’s deep magics and the fae bloodlines, I suspect. Do you understand?”
Dain looked at Jin and she nodded again, eyes wide. Jin hadn’t had any visions in years—like most seers, she’d grown out of it—but it was as good an explanation as any for the source of her visions. For generations, seers had used their visions to guide the wood elves. Jin’s grandmother Selasa had guided her people, though unlike most, her sight hadn’t faded with age. Since Jin had lost the talent, another hadn’t yet been found among the wood elves. Dain knew she considered it one of her own failings that her people no longer had access to the visions to guide them.
And it is ridiculous for her to blame herself, but that doesn’t stop her.
“I ask,” Teran said, “only because I paint my visions.” The big elf took the work in progress off the easel and held it so it faced them. “Is this the elf you speak of? Koren?”
The image showed a golden elf with white-blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Her left arm and a wide swatch of her chest were covered in dark, leathery scales. A pack of demons followed behind her, and she stood at the temple’s door between the two headless statues. Her taloned fist was smashing through the outer door.
Dain nodded. “Yes, that’s—”
A great crash sounded from above.
“If she is, as you claim, bonded to a demon, she will draw strength from the Well,” Teran said, eyes rising to the ceiling and toward the noise. “As its guardian, I must protect it. Unfortunately, she’ll be able to start pulling on the power when she breaches the outer chamber.” He stood, starting for the little door that led to the Well. “I can cut off the flow for a time—perhaps long enough for you to defeat her—but I can do little else to help.”
“How long before she arrives?” Dain asked, clutching the hilt of his tomahawk.
“An hour, maybe two. No more than that,” Teran said.
“Telar and Luren will go with you. Jin and I will meet Koren in the outer room,” Dain said.
Telar started to protest and Dain cut him off with a look. He placed both hands on his son’s shoulders.
“We have a duty here to protect the Well and our family. If I fall, get your sister and yourself to safety. Take Teran with you. The Well was taken from the demons before, and it can be done again.”
“I can sneak the little ones past her if need be,” Teran offered.
“Father, I will do as you ask. You can count on me,” Telar said. His eyes were somber.
“I know,” Dain said, nodding and ruffling the boy’s hair. “Now go.”
Telar and Lure
n followed the red elf into the cavern. Dain hefted his weapons, looked at Jin, and moved to the door. An hour, maybe two. Not enough time to do much. When they heard Koren outside, they’d rush out and attack, maybe land a lucky blow. Sometimes the best options were the least complicated.
Jin watched him, expecting something, but he had nothing to offer her. They had neither the time nor materials to prepare anything. Dain felt at the hilt of his sword. He checked the dagger at his belt, making sure it was loose in its sheath, and then he took the tomahawk in his left hand.
He glanced at Jin again; she was methodically checking her weapons as well, hands swift and sure. A sudden surge of pride and love filled his chest. A mighty warmth anchored in your chest that spreads outward, he thought, remembering Teran’s words.
Another thundering echo came from above. He looked up toward it, but could see nothing beyond the stairs.
“When Koren reaches the bottom, we’ll rush her. Toss the torches in ahead of us. The sudden light will disorient them as their eyes adjust, and we’ll have a few moments to act.”
“What happened next?” Jin asked, a small smile curving one corner of her mouth.
“What?”
“What happened after the trial?”
He knew she was trying to distract him; trying to distract herself, as well. He’d heard enough about their duel to know that Koren had grown beyond her former abilities, and the painting showed she was not alone. Neither he nor Jin was likely to see the dawn. If they were lucky, they’d take Koren with them and give the twins and the ancient elf a chance at escape.
Dain put down the tomahawk and squeezed his daughter’s shoulder. He thought to comfort her, to offer some words of wisdom and reassurance, but that had never been his way.
If she needed a distraction, he would oblige her. He could do nothing else for her now.
“I passed the trial.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Karelian Empire—Twentieth Year of Pelion’s Reign
“Dain, you have all the finesse of a swine,” Quin said. “Honestly, brother, if you ever find me lying wounded on the battlefield, just let me die.”
“That bad?”
“Even with the extra lessons from Valessa, you have improved only by the slimmest of margins. Are you spending your time with her studying or on other activities?”
Dain felt his cheeks grow hot. “Studying…mostly.” He couldn’t suppress a grin.
It was hardly a secret that he’d gone to the young priestess for extra lessons in healings and blessings; the practice was common. However, he’d thought that the others were unaware of the growing intimacy between them. We will have to be more careful.
It wasn’t forbidden for the recruits and Paladins to form relationships with the priestesses, not strictly—more than a few Paladins had even married priestesses—but there were challenges. With husband and wife both in service to the Light and their respective Orders, they were often sent to opposite ends of the Empire; not the healthiest way to keep a marriage alive. Marriage to anyone serving either the Order or the Empire was hard. His own parents were an example of that. He could count on one hand how many holidays his father had celebrated at home.
“We are done for today,” Quin said. “Do try to focus your attention on healing when you see her next, will you?”
Dain started making his way back to his quarters, the heat of his embarrassment slowly draining away from his face. As a fourth-year student he should have been an expert at healing by now, but despite his best efforts, his skills in that area remained stunted. He passed by the little row of first-year cabins and wondered what his old friends were doing now.
Five members of his squad had passed the trial. That was two long years ago. For his success, Chaney had received a commendation from the Sovereign. Dain hoped that Falion had found an honorable profession, but doubted it. His wily friend was probably off picking pockets somewhere, but Dain couldn’t bring himself to think poorly on him for it. Strale was well on his way to the priesthood now. He’d seen him twice since the trials. Niles had gone back to his father’s business. Of the three, he’d been the most disappointed.
As for Valessa, their time together was pleasant and a welcome relief from his studies, but he was wary of taking things to a more serious place. At first, she had claimed the same, but lately she carried a different manner about her; she spoke in subtle little hints about a future between them. She’d even wanted to meet his mother when she’d come to visit two months back. Dain didn’t want to disappoint her, but was unsure of how to broach the uncomfortable subject of not being the marrying sort—at least not yet.
“Have you heard?” Zek said, storming into their shared room. Zek’s confidence and skills had grown. He could now hold his own with Kag at swords, but unlike the others, he’d held onto every bit of his boyish enthusiasm.
“Heard what?”
“A messenger arrived from the east today.” Zek’s eyes blazed with excitement. “He has news of the war.”
“What does that have to do with us? We still have another eight months of training,” said Dain.
“Maybe, but there’s talk.”
“Talk, stories, rumors; it’s all the same, Zek. Just gossip. There’s no way we’ll see action until our training is complete. It has never been done,” Dain plopped down on his bed. There’d been talk like this for over a year now, and it hadn’t led to anything.
Less than a year after his reassignment to the east, Chalmer had gotten his war.
At first, it had seemed like the war with the grey elves would be over before it began. The Paladin brigades, with support from a few of the Emperor’s legions, swiftly pushed well inside their lands. Barely a month after the war had begun, they’d stood within sight of the enemy’s capital. Then the grey elves sprang their trap.
They’d summoned otherworldly beasts of rock and fire. They’d hurled lightning and glowing spheres of destructive magic. Their soldiers had formed up into an army that dwarfed the Paladins a dozen to one.
Only two Paladins had escaped to tell the tale. Chalmer had been called to Karelton before the invasion began; he’d never even bloodied his sword.
They’d tried to keep the truth of the resounding defeat hidden, but eventually the family members of the men who’d been lost asked enough questions to piece the story together and it all came leaking out. Over twelve hundred Paladins—a full third of the Order’s strength—along with four thousand of the Emperor’s men had been lost, and now the Empire was at war on two fronts. The elves were on the offensive and pressing in from the east, and Thistleton’s defenses remained unconquered in the north.
Dain wondered if the Empire could survive the strain. He’d noticed fewer and fewer guards along the wall. It seemed that they were constantly being formed up and dispatched east in units a thousand strong. At the Red Roan, he’d heard men saying that there was talk of withdrawing from Thistleton to push back the elves.
“Just talk or no, we’re to gather in the grand hall this evening after dinner,” Zek said. “Every fourth and third-year cadet.”
“Fourth and third?” Dain asked.
Zek nodded sagely. A smile crept across his face. “I’m telling you, friend, this time it’s true. I’m off to see if Kag and the others know anything more.”
The door closed behind Zek, and Dain collapsed onto his back. They might really send us before our training is done. Can things truly be so bad?
Never before had a brother been sent to the front before their training was complete. It just wasn’t done. If it were true, it could only mean that the wars were much worse than they knew.
Dain didn’t want to go east. He didn’t want to fight Thave’s people. His old instructor had returned to his homeland when the Empire had grown unsafe for his kind.
The Highlan
ds not safe for Thave? Dain couldn’t imagine it. For years Thave had fought side by side with the men of the West to protect their lands and homes from the trolls, and he wasn’t alone; there were hundreds of other elves who shared the Highlands. Their ancestors were buried alongside members of his own family. Now, if he was sent east, Dain might well face some of them on the battlefield.
Dinner came and went; Dain was barely aware of eating. His doubts and thoughts taunted him like whispers in a fog. Would he perform his duty? Would he kill a grey elf—Thave, even—for Chalmer’s war?
After dinner, he joined his brothers in the great hall. Though they were no longer housemates, he and Zek sat with Kag, Trysen, and Dremble. Over the course of their training their friendship had grown deeper. Zek’s father had invited them to parties at his estate. Dain had introduced them to the Red Roan, and Kag was now involved with Aleesa. He’d even bought a ring for her, though he didn’t realize the others knew of it. Even Trysen and Dremble had changed, both growing more accepting of the others. Last Winterfeast they’d all gone to Trysen’s home for the revelry.
Now we’ll be going to war together, Dain thought, brothers in battle. But part of my family will be on the other side.
The Sovereign took the podium. He wore the plain white and tan robes of his office and a black silk cloth draped around his neck. The silk had come after the heavy losses in the east. The name of every Paladin lost was sewn onto it with gold thread. When he turned, the long list of names glistened in the candlelight.
“Brothers, we are gathered together at a solemn time. A dark time. A time of change and turmoil,” the Sovereign began. “Not since the dark days of Palatine have we stood so close to the edge of oblivion. The Order itself threatens to fracture.”
Paladin's Fall: Kingdom's Forge Book 2 Page 34