The Dread King: Book One of The Larken Chronicles

by R. L. Poston

  Larken’s face turned scarlet at that remark. He supposed that the story was all over the camp by now. As he lowered his head, however, he was astonished by Gahen’s next remark.

  “OK, so I threw up,” Gahen said. “You chop someone’s head off and have them bear hug you as their neck spouts blood and see how great you feel.”

  “No offense, Gahen,” laughed Jaris. “To tell the truth, I had to sit down after the attack was over so that I wouldn’t faint. We may be Warders, but we’re still human. In any case, there aren’t any other heroes around except us, so we may as well get used to that fact. Now what about the main force in the desert, Friend Eleas? Are they still coming?”

  “Yes, they will be here in ten days. They did not move last night, but they began moving this morning.”

  “Have they changed to travel during the day?” asked Jaris.

  “It seems so,” answered Eleas. “Perhaps the loss of so many of their Elves have hindered their ability to move in darkness.”

  “Let’s hope so,” said Jaris. “In more ways than one. In any case, since the rest of our forces will begin to arrive in four days, we can set them up as they come just like we planned. Amanda, if you run into any trouble in commandeering troops to move the wounded, come right to me. I want the wounded out of sight quickly. Not only for their benefit, but also for morale.”

  “Agreed,” said Amanda. “But I doubt that we’ll have any trouble there.”

  “And, Larken, your job from here to the next attack is to find a way to block that mind lance or whatever we’re going to call it.”

  “Mind lance is a good description,” said Amanda. “It seems to strike only the Talented, and hits the Warders especially hard. It’s like a lance going through their Warding Talent into their mind.”

  “Whatever it is, Larken, I expect you to find some way for the average Warder to counter it,” said Jaris.

  “Yes, sir,” answered Larken. “But, as I’ve said, I don’t seem to be able to reach my Talent just now. I don’t know how long that will last.”

  “Then let me rephrase your charge. Your first task is to regain your use of Talent. Then you’re to find a defense against that mind lance.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Larken. “Eleas, is there any indication that there might be another advance attack?”

  “No. They seem to be traveling as a group now.”

  Gahen added, “Our scouts indicate that they probably have between two thousand in the force.”

  “A small force then,” mused Jaris. “More indication that they are depending on the effectiveness of the mind lance. They probably have more pairs of Warders and Healers back in the main force than they committed to the advance attack. My guess is that the attack was supposed to win through surprise, not strength. They were right in that we weren’t prepared. If Larken hadn’t been here, they would have won.”

  “Amen to that,” said Gahen. “That mind lance was a real surprise. I stayed on my feet, but my head still aches.”

  “Mine too,” said Amanda, “and I only got a small dose of it.”

  Jaris nodded. “Larken, you’ve got to get us prepared. Our troops can probably hold the pass with the help of the Elven, but unless you come up with a defense to that mind lance, our Warders will be useless. Unless, of course, you plan to repeat your performance and take out most of the Warders and Healers like you did yesterday.”

  “If he has to, sir, he will,” replied Gahen. “But I’d like to be in on this one. I managed to block most of that thing, but it hurt, and I’ve got a score to settle with whoever discovered it.”

  “Hopefully, you’ll get that chance. Right now, we’re just trying to stop his minions,” replied Jaris. “Larken, you have full authority to commandeer any or all of the Healers and any or all of the Warders, but you have to find us a defense.”

  “I’ll help,” said Amanda to Larken, “but you’ll have to guide us.”

  “I’ll try,” said Larken. “But first, I need to visit with the Elven Council. I’ve got to regain my Talent.”

  “The Council stands ready to help,” said Eleas. “Algar and the rest of the Council will meet you in the mountains. I need to stay here, but I will tell you where to go.”

  “Good,” said Larken. “I’ll go right after lunch.”

  Exiting Jaris’ command tent, Larken found Melona waiting for him. She suggested that since it was past noon, they grab some food while they could.

  “How did it go?” asked Melona once they settled down onto a log near the camp kitchens.

  “OK, I guess,” replied Larken. “We’re going to prepare for a conventional attack. We’ve got superior numbers and position. I’m supposed to come up with a way to counter the mind lance.”

  “Mind lance? Is that what they are calling it?”

  “Yeah, dumb name, but pretty descriptive. I felt just a bit of it, and that was pretty awful.”

  “So, how are you going to beat it?”

  “I have absolutely no idea,” replied Larken. “First, I’ve got to get my Talent back. I still can’t touch it.”

  “What about Leona? Could she help?” asked Melona.

  “Maybe,” answered Larken. “But I’ve asked Algar for a meld first. The meld might help me faster than Leona could. Amanda and Jaris said that losing Talent for a short time after a trauma is not unusual. I thought the Elves might be able to help me get perspective on the battle and the things I did, and that might let me regain Talent.”

  “Larken, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Yes, I did. I killed people. That’s wrong. I know that it was the lesser of two evils, but it still is wrong. And I know I will kill people again in a few days, but it still will be wrong.”

  Melona didn’t reply. There was nothing to add. She and Larken both knew he was correct. They also knew that the entire expedition was waiting to see if Larken could regain his Talent and develop a defense to the new weapon of the Dark Forces.

  Larken left the camp after he and Melona finished lunch. To reach the meld site, Larken had to hike high into the mountains, which took the better part of the afternoon. Larken was very conscious of the amount of time that this effort was taking. He was also very conscious of his lack of stamina without his Talent. While the frustration of how much time it was taking might have caused him to run back, the sharp awareness of his inability to help his friends without Talent caused him to keep on going. At last, he reached the place described by Elias.

  The site was simply a clear area under some towering pines, carpeted with thick pine needles that provided comfortable and dry seating for the Elves that were gathered. Larken recognized several of the Elves, but also saw some new faces. Algar introduced several of them before they sat. The new faces were some of the Elves from Norland who had come to help repel the attackers. Unlike the humans, the Elves did not recognize the three kingdoms, but were all united under Queen Aletha. However, for an Elf to travel far was unusual. That so many of them had made such a journey was a clear sign that the Elves regarded the current invasion as a threat that went far beyond the simple threat of the few thousand attackers.

  After introductions and the sharing of a token meal and drink, the meld was begun. This time Larken knew what to expect and eagerly looked forward to the experience. He had questioned if he would be able to participate in the meld without his Talent, but Algar had assured him that he would. While he believed Algar was probably correct, his remaining doubt kept him anxious until the meld began. As he merged his mind into the meld, Larken felt an almost physical sense of relief. As the greater identity of the meld took effect, Larken absorbed the knowledge of councils and communication among the Elves that had produced the alignment of resources and Elves from many areas. He absorbed the lore of those who had been summoned to the meld because of their study of past wars. He brought to the meld his concerns with Talent, Jaris’ plans, and his experience with the mind lance. All of these were combined seamlessly, and decisions and understanding flo
wed to each participant.

  There was no discussion in the normal everyday sense of the word. Everything was simply shared, known, combined, affirmed, refuted, or discarded. What resulted was a consensus of intention, plan, and understanding. The individual members of the meld would not retain all the detailed knowledge for long, but each would retain those portions that directly affected them.

  Having accomplished all that was needed, the meld dissolved, and each participant returned to their own consciousness. Larken again suffered nausea at the ending of the meld. But, this time, he did not pass out. He stayed seated on the ground until the sickness passed. The meld had found within him the same barrier that the previous meld had found. It had checked the bonds around the barrier and had found them strong and inviolate. It also found, however, a new area shrouded in the same darkness. It was not well-defined, consisting only of hints and suggestions and taints of darkness. The meld cleansed this area of the darkness, and then added understanding to Larken about why he had been robbed of his Talent.

  The meld understood that it was the taint of rage that had robbed Larken of his Talent. The rage had come from Larken’s reaction to the attack on his friends and companions the day before. The rage had resonated with the darkness that had tried to snare Larken at his Bonding. Whether the rage had been all from Larken or had somehow been part of the dark power that had tried to ensnare him was uncertain. However, if Larken had continued to use his Talent, he would have been in grave danger. If he had used it in anger, the anger would have resonated with and empowered the darkness within him. Something inside Larken had recognized that and had prevented him from touching his Talent. The meld, by cleansing him of this new darkness, had returned to him his abilities along with his equilibrium.

  After he was able to comfortably move, Larken found that most of the meld’s participants had already left on their various paths and duties. Algar was waiting for him outside the circle.

  “You have your Talent back,” Algar stated simply.

  “Yes,” replied Larken. “It came back with the cleansing. The meld also helped me to understand my place in this battle. I always understood how it was necessary to kill, but the meld gave me the emotional perspective as well. I still don’t like it, but I will be able to fight again.”

  “Good,” said Algar. “You will now try to defend against this Talent weapon?”

  “Yes,” said Larken. “If we can.”

  “We can,” said Algar. “It was done in the Dread Wars. Else we would not have won. You will find a way.”

  “I’ll be trying,” said Larken, not feeling as confident.

  “It was good that you came to the meld,” said Algar. “You are a good person.”

  “People keep saying that, but I don’t know that it is true,” replied Larken. “There’s a lot in me that even the meld couldn’t touch.”

  “You are a good person. If it were not true, we would not be here. You saved us from a terrible weapon. You did not give in to anger and hate. That is proof.”

  “Maybe. But maybe we’re just lucky.”

  Algar shook his head. “Elves do not believe in this ‘luck’ that you speak of. If you had given in to anger and hate, the darkness would have claimed you. You lost your Talent because you are good and would not let yourself use your Talent until you were free from that danger.”

  “I still don’t understand that fully, Friend Algar. I understand the danger for me, but I don’t understand what part of me knew to stop using Talent. I also don’t understand why I’ll be able to fight now without danger. I’ll still get angry. I don’t understand why anger was so destructive before but won’t hurt me now.”

  “But now you will use your Talent to fight out of necessity,” Algar said. “You will use your anger, but it will not consume you. Now you will have balance. You will understand how to balance your need to destroy with your wish not to. Before, you were in danger of wanting only to destroy. That way is the way of darkness.”

  “Will the darkness always be there waiting to trap me?”

  “It is always there for all people. You have more Talent. Therefore, you are in more danger. That is all we need to know.”

  Larken frowned. “Then those with the most power should be the ones who should not use it. That seems to be a paradox.”

  “We have a saying, ‘The weak must be strong, and the strong weak.’ The saying is true, but only the strong grow to understand it.”

  Larken nodded. “We have a similar saying. I guess it is true for all people.”

  * * * * *

  The trip back to the camp was mostly downhill and took much less time than the ascent. Larken’s renewed Talent gave him both speed and perception of the proper path. Arriving at the camp shortly after supper, Larken quickly reported in and then found Leona and Gahen.

  “What do you want to try?” asked Leona as they secluded themselves in one of the command tents.

  “I want you to try to connect with my memory of the defense. Then try to instruct Gahen about how to do it.”

  “Why can’t you just tell me?” asked Gahen. “No offense intended, Leona, but why do we need her?”

  “Because I don’t know how you feel inside,” said Larken.

  “I think I understand, Gahen,” contributed Leona. “I’ve been ‘inside’ other people to see how they feel, both with Talent and with my counseling. I’m also familiar with the way that Larken thinks and feels. If I can understand what he did, I might be able to translate that into how other people could do it.”

  “Well, that’s sort of right,” said Larken. “But, also, I don’t know how I did it either. Leona is going to have to help me find that first.”

  “OK,” said Gahen resignedly. “This sounds tricky, but I guess we don’t have an alternative. We’re sure that they’re still going to attack?”

  “We’re sure,” said Larken. “The first attack was a quick thrust to try to take us by surprise. The real attack will come soon.”

  “I still don’t understand why they’re attacking with such a small force,” said Leona. “It still doesn’t make sense.”

  “I think I do,” said Larken. “They didn’t believe that we could raise an effective defense to the mind lance. The first attack was a suicide attack, but it might have worked. Since they didn’t commit a lot of their forces to it, they probably figured it would most likely fail. However, if it had worked, even partially, they would have won a foothold in the mountains. The real attack will come soon. They’ll commit all their forces to gaining the pass. They’ll probably still use the mind lance. If we can’t find a defense against it, they’ll win.”

  “All this sounds too fantastic for me,” said Gahen. “I just can’t get a grip on mind lances, the Dread King, dark powers, the Source, and all this other stuff.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s real,” said Larken. “I’ve felt the darkness inside me. I almost gave in to it. I believe that, when my mind refused to use my Talent, it was protecting me from something other than myself. Fortunately, the meld restored my balance. The darkness can’t get a grip on me now, but the Dread King is still out there, and so is the darkness. Anyway, Gahen, we need to protect the rest of the Warders. Let’s start. We can argue the theory when the battle is over.”

  “OK by me,” said Gahen. “What do I do?”

  “Just let me into you mind,” said Leona. “Don’t resist me. I’m going to first try to feel what Larken was feeling when he defended himself. Then I’m going to translate it into your Talent. I’ll be talking to you at the same time. Just try to do what I tell you. I’ll make adjustments as we go along.”

  The process was remarkably successful and easy. When Leona made a mental connection with Larken, she found that his memory of his defense against the mind lance was crisp and clear. What she found was that he had been using his mental shields to block others from reading his thoughts with technique that the Elves had taught him. When the mind lance had attacked him, he had instinctively focused his tho
se same shields on the mind lance energies attacking him.

  Leona also found that this type of shielding was not outside of the normal Healing or Warding Talent range. Gahen was able to duplicate the technique under Leona’s guidance after only a few minutes’ practice. Unfortunately, it created another effect as well. One that was not received well when Leona reported to the Healers the next morning.

  “What?” stormed Dionne. “You want us to teach every Warder how to shield themselves from our thought perception?”

  “Well, not exactly,” hedged Leona. “I want us to teach them how to defend themselves. It’s just one of the side effects that they’ll be able to shield their minds from us too.”

  “And are there any other side effects?” asked Amanda, glancing around at the others in the Healers’ tent to gauge their reaction.

  At this Leona actually squirmed. “Well, I think, I’m not sure, mind you, but I think that this will start some of them on the path of learning how to perceive others’ emotions and, maybe, even their thoughts.”

  “Wait a minute,” interrupted Dionne. “How can learning how to shield show them how to perceive thoughts?”

  “Because it’s the same part of Talent that does both,” sighed Amanda. “It’s something that I’ve long suspected. You see, the Healing Talent is on one end of the Talent spectrum, and the Warder Talent is on the other. Empathetic and telepathic Talents are somewhere in the middle. Healers have more of an affinity to these, but people such as Tragen sometimes develop one or both.”

  “But that would mean,” interjected Melona, “that Talent can be taught. I mean that you’re not born with a type of Talent, but just Talent in general, and that you can learn any type of Talent. But”—she paused with a frown—“then why aren’t there more male Healers?”

  “Actually,” said Amanda, “I suspect there are. Our prejudices tell us that a male with Talent is going to have the Warding Talent and a female with Talent is a Healer. We test that way, we Bond that way, and we train that way. There are exceptions of course, but the exceptions are regarded as anomalies. Plus, we ignore the fact that Warders use Talent unconsciously to heal themselves all the time. I suspect that we could train Warders to Heal others and Healers to Ward.”