Support for his idea was swift, and heads nodded as words of agreement were muttered.
“You must be the one to meet with the King, Reiv,” a man called out to him. “He’s your brother. You should do it.”
Reiv felt a momentary pressure in his chest as words of refusal prepared to leave his lips, but then he realized that it was his task to do, not only for the Jecta, but for himself.
“Very well,” he said. “I will take your demands to the King. But after that is done, the clans must select someone to lead them in council. I will be going home to Meirla, and Dayn—” Reiv turned to watch his cousin’s face as he said, “Dayn will support you as long as he is able, I am sure, but even he has choices to make.” Then he looked out across the crowd. “You have divided yourselves into clans with representatives from each. You have started a governing body, different from that of Tearia, but far more powerful. Elect a leader, work together, and all will be well.” Reiv waited for no more comments or questions, but moved swiftly through the audience with Dayn at his back. There was no need for further discussion. The sooner he undertook the task with Whyn, the better.
The crowd thinned as people returned to their business, and Dayn and Reiv headed for their makeshift shelter in the encampment. Their shelter was like the hundreds of others that surrounded it. It was nothing more than several poles stuck in the dirt, topped with a ragged tarp that snapped in the wind and moved its supports in a precarious dance. When Dayn and Reiv arrived, they were surprised to find Alicine and Nannaven there, deep in conversation.
“I thought you two went to see about a sick child,” Dayn said as he ducked beneath a drooping portion of the tarp.
Alicine’s face looked solemn. “We did. The babe’s not doing well.”
“But you said it only had a slight fever,” Reiv said.
“It did, but by this morning…”
Nannaven shuffled to the far corner, then bent down to rummage through a pile of bottles she had scavenged. “The illness came quickly, but the child’s not the first. There are others. But this illness…” She shook her head. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
Reiv lowered himself to sit cross-legged on a blanket. He leaned his forehead in his hand. “Agneis give me strength,” he muttered.
“Could it be the food or the water?” Dayn asked. “I mean, the water smells foul, and I actually saw people eating rats!”
“Could be. Can’t be certain,” Nannaven replied. “But I doubt it’s the rats. They have been a part of the Jecta diet off and on for years. As for the water…”
“We’d better get word to the clans just in case,” Dayn said. “If it’s the water, a new source will need to be found. As for the rats, I’m going to suggest people find something else to eat anyway. Whether the things are causing illness or not, they’re still vile.” Dayn started to leave, but then paused. He turned to Brina who sat silently to the side. She stared past him with vacant eyes.
“Brina?” he asked.
She blinked and focused her attention on him. “I am fine, son. Do not worry about me. Go on…take care of the business at hand.”
Dayn nodded, then left.
“You are not fine, Brina,” Reiv said, rising and crossing over to her. “What is it?”
“My burden, Reiv, not yours.”
He knelt in front of her. “Tell me.”
She turned her eyes away, then said, “I always had Mahon’s love, but I threw it away. All these years I blamed him for everything when I should have shared in it equally. Now he is dead and I can never tell him how sorry I am for it.”
“Forgiveness is a difficult thing. I am struggling with it myself. But you have to forgive yourself first, Brina.”
“I do not know if I can. Mahon gave his life for our son. His love was there for Dayn, just as it was for me.”
“And he gave it without hesitation,” Reiv said. “You can honor it by accepting that which you cannot change. Mahon would have wanted that.”
“When did you become so wise?” she said, admiration glinting through her tears.
Reiv shook his head and smiled. “I would not describe myself as wise, but I guess I have learned a few things these past months.”
“That you have. Well, let me offer you one more piece of wisdom. If you truly love someone, latch onto them with all your heart and soul. Do not toss love aside over wounded pride or foolish misunderstandings.”
Reiv felt the overwhelming urge to look at Alicine, but refrained from doing so. “Sometimes tragedies force us to realize things about ourselves we never knew,” he said. Then he rose and took a step back. “Now I must do some forgiving of my own. I am off to find Whyn.”
“What?” Brina cried, raising a hand to stop him.
“The clans refuse to aid the Tearians unless a pact is drawn up with their King. I have offered to seek him out and present the demands.”
“Please, you do not know how he will react. He tried to kill you before; he might do it again!”
“I do not think that will happen,” Reiv said. “Whyn’s people are in desperate need. He will have no choice but to listen.”
Brina rose and wrapped her arms around him. “Please do not go,” she whispered.
“I will be back soon.” Reiv took her by the shoulders and leaned her back gently. “Is there anything you wish me to tell him?”
“Yes. Tell him I forgive him…and I love him.”
Reiv nodded. “I will.”
He had turned to exit the shelter when Alicine called out to him, “Reiv, take the dirk at least.”
He nodded, feeling foolish for almost having left without it, and retrieved the weapon from beneath his bedroll and tucked it into his waistband.
“Oh, and Reiv…” Alicine ran up behind him.
He stopped to face her. “What is it?”
“I wanted to tell you something before you left, that’s all.”
“Can it wait?”
“No, it can’t wait. I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for Dayn and me, and I want to tell you—”
“That you expect I am going to die again,” he said with amusement.
A wave of temper crossed her features. “That is certainly not what I wanted to tell you!”
“What then?”
Alicine opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Then I will say it,” Reiv said. “I love you. There… it is done.” He bent down and kissed her startled face. “I will be back shortly. Perhaps by then your lips will be working.”
He smiled and walked away, leaving a strangely silent Alicine staring after him.
BACK TO ToC
Chapter 26: City of Rats
It was early afternoon when Reiv reached the Tearian encampment outside what remained of the walls. Strangely, no hostility greeted him when he arrived. The eyes that followed him as he passed were full of pain and longing. No longer did they taunt him with their stares. No longer did they turn from him in disgust. Once beautiful and arrogant, the Tearians were now filthy and haggard, their misery equally distributed regardless of class or distinction.
Reiv made his way through the crowd, ignoring the uplifted hands and pleas for help. His mission was to find his brother. There was no time for charity. He scanned the host of grimy faces, but saw no sign of his brother. Realizing Whyn would not be huddled amongst the rabble, he set his sights on a group of guards posted at the entrance to the city.
The entrance was nothing more than a place in the wall where the wreckage had been cleared away. No traffic was coming or going through it, no doubt because of the guards. Why they were there was not clear; there did not seem much beyond the wall worth going in for.
Reiv reached the guards and was ordered to halt. “What is your business here?” one of them asked.
“I have come to speak with the King. Do you know where I might find him?”
The guard seemed uneasy for a moment, then he said, “He is at the palace, what is left of
it. He refuses to leave.”
Reiv nodded and walked past. No one made a move to stop him.
As he inched his way through the wreckage that was once the main street, Reiv kept his attention on the skeletal remains of the buildings on either side of him. He knew the slightest tremble, maybe even the tiniest gust of wind, could send them tumbling in his direction. He clambered atop a mound of debris, pausing to gain his bearings. Street signs and former landmarks were all but obliterated; little about the place seemed familiar to him anymore. He turned his eyes toward the hill where the palace once stood, surveying the twisting maze of stone that lay between him and his destination.
He began his descent from the mound, but something scurried across his foot, throwing him off balance. Vermin swarmed from beneath the rubble, screeching and clattering as they skittered away. Reiv shivered. His once beautiful home had become a city of rats.
He made his way through the rocky mess as best he could, keeping his eyes primarily on his feet, but he was soon halted by the pungent smell of death. A body, half- buried, lay just ahead of him. Reiv’s stomach roiled. From where he stood, the body was barely recognizable as a person; only the trace of its clothing revealed it as such. Reiv threw his hand over his nose, but the stench would not be erased. For a moment he thought to turn and abandon his mission altogether. He couldn’t imagine finding his brother, or mother, or anyone else he knew in that condition. Turning his eyes aside, he directed his path away from the corpse and hurried on.
After what seemed like an eternity he reached the remains of the palace. Pausing to survey what was left of the temple a short distance away, he could not help but feel buoyed by its demise. Once the home of Tearia’s religious powers, it was now annihilated, its pillars and sacred statues scattered into a thousand pieces, the influence of the Priestess destroyed along with it.
He turned his attention back to the palace. It bore little resemblance to the home of his childhood memories. The place was eerily quiet, and the crunch of rocks beneath Reiv’s feet shouted his presence with every step he took. Wreckage tumbled in tiny avalanches as he stumbled over it, its echoes resonating against the few remaining walls. As the sun streamed in through holes in sagging chunks of ceiling, it bathed the room in patches of cheery light, such contrast to the dismal aura of the ruins.
The walls leaned in precariously, prompting Reiv to work his way as far from them as possible. The palace was a huge, jumbled place, and Reiv wasn’t sure where to look first. His brother could be anywhere, if he was even there at all. “Whyn,” he called softly. He stopped and listened, but heard nothing, then moved forward a few more paces and paused again. “Whyn,” he repeated.
He heard a rustle to his left and made his way toward it. Rounding a jagged half-wall, he found himself in the area that was once the receiving room. His eyes gravitated toward the place where the dais would have been. What he saw there stopped him in his tracks.
Whyn sat upon the once elegant throne, the frame of it now lopsided and bent. His chin was slumped against his chest, and his arms were draped across those of the chair. A plate sat on the floor before him, covered by several busy rats. No doubt the guards had attempted to feed their King, but from the look of him, he had not partaken of the offering. His face was drawn and deathly pale, and his hair hung limp and matted. He raised his eyes to Reiv. They were haunted and dull. Even the Lion Sword that lay across his lap bore no glimmer.
Reiv moved slowly toward his brother. “Whyn.” But that was all he could say.
A flicker of recognition crossed Whyn’s features. His lips parted. Then his eyes shifted to a pile of massive stones nearby and the remains of a tiny hand protruding from it. “Cinnia,” Whyn said, his voice barely a whisper.
Reiv’s gaze followed that of his brother. A knot swelled in his throat. He swallowed, but could not ease its grip. “Please, Whyn,” he managed. “Let me take you from this place.”
“No!” Whyn shouted. “I will not leave her!”
Reiv tensed as his brother’s thundering voice bounced off the unstable walls. He nodded as if in agreement, then slowly crossed over to where Cinnia’s body lay. He gazed at her for a moment, but that moment seemed like an eternity as visions of happier times worked through his mind. He forced his eyes from her and searched the ground around him. A tapestry lay half-buried beneath a pile of nearby debris. He pulled it out and draped it across her.
“Cinnia would not want you to remember her like this,” Reiv said, turning to his brother. “She would want you to remember her as she was.”
“She was so beautiful,” Whyn whispered.
“The most beautiful girl in all of Tearia,” Reiv said gently.
“She loved me, you know.”
Reiv hesitated, then replied, “Of course she did.”
A flash of crimson rushed to Whyn’s face. “It was always me! Never you!”
Reiv felt anger surge to his breast, but then he realized it no longer mattered whether Cinnia had loved him or not. “I know, Whyn. You are right. It was always you.” Reiv scanned the room. “Where is Mother?” he asked cautiously.
“Gone…dead,” Whyn said with a wave of his hand.
Reiv nodded and fought back the tears stinging his eyes. He walked toward his brother and stood before him. “Cinnia is dead, Whyn. And Mother. But you are very much alive. You must try to set their deaths aside for a while, if you can. There will be time enough to grieve for them, but right now you have other responsibilities. Your people need you.”
“I have failed them all,” Whyn said.
“No, but you will if you sit here and wallow in self-pity. You must go to them. You are their King.”
“King of what?” Whyn said. “There is nothing left.”
“Of course there is. Tearia is its people, not its buildings. Buildings can be rebuilt, and they will be. Right now you need to focus on those who need you.”
“What can I possibly do for them?”
“You can show them that you are strong, that you will work to heal their wounds and make Tearia great again. But it can never be as it was before.”
“Who are you to tell me what Tearia can or cannot be.” Whyn’s eyes narrowed into slits. He fingered the sword in his lap.
“I am here to tell you the Jecta are willing to help if you agree to their concessions.”
Whyn moved to protest, but Reiv cut him short. “They only ask for basic human rights. They have been denied them for too long. Put your pride aside, Whyn. You know the truth of things. You know the Priestess did not speak for Agneis. You saw it for yourself.”
Whyn shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. “It is as though she took my very soul with her.”
“No one can take another’s soul unless it is given freely.”
Whyn hung his head. “Then I must have done so.”
Reiv stepped toward him. “The brother I know would have never done such a thing. You are still Whyn.”
Whyn lifted his eyes to him. “I fear there is very little of Whyn left in me.”
Reiv knelt on one knee and placed a hand atop his brother’s. Whyn regarded it with a puzzled expression.
“I know you to be strong,” Reiv said. “You will fight this feeling and you will win. In the meantime, let us put the battle between us aside. If we are to move forward, we must find a way to forgive. I do not wish to carry this burden anymore. I want this settled once and for all. After things are set right between the Tearians and the Jecta, I will be leaving and will likely never see you again.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am no longer Tearian, Whyn. I am Shell Seeker now and will be going home to Meirla.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because it is true. My heart lies there, just as yours lies here. The throne of Tearia is yours. I want no part of it, and have not for quite some time.”
Whyn wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the sword. “You wanted this not so long ago.”
“No more. It
is yours now, but the sword’s legacy is not one we should be proud of. For a time I thought to destroy it. Now I think it should be kept safe as a reminder of things.”
Whyn rose, then stared at the tapestry covering Cinnia. He lifted his head and slowly straightened his shoulders. “What needs to be done then?”
Reiv stood and scanned Whyn up and down. “First we must get you looking more presentable. Then we must arrange a meeting between you, your council, and the Jecta representatives. Once the agreement is drawn, the healing can begin. It is the only way.”
Whyn nodded. “Then we will do it.” His words conveyed hope, but the flat tone of his voice and the emptiness in his eyes somehow failed the mark.
BACK TO ToC
Chapter 27: Destinations
Whyn emerged from his seclusion with all the dignity befitting a King. No one dared question his mysterious absence in the days preceding. They were so thrilled to see him that there was no room in their hearts for bitterness.
Reiv stayed at his brother’s side that day, explaining the ways the Jecta could help. Meanwhile Whyn ordered the Guard to reorganize and disperse into groups. They took a careful survey of food and supplies within the Tearian encampment and arranged swift medical treatment for those most in need. Whyn requested that a meeting with the Jecta take place the following morning, and Reiv returned to the Pobu encampment that night to deliver the news.
The sun had long since set when Reiv arrived back at camp, but the moon was bright and cast a pale, silver light. Dark canopies rippled in the breeze, and campfires danced and sparked along the hillside. The smell of smoke and meats cooking on spits mingled with the night air, and for a moment Reiv wondered if Dayn’s message regarding the rats had been heeded. Voices rose and fell, the hum of chatter mixed with an occasional burst of laughter. The merriment was music to Reiv’s ears, and he pushed the thought of rats from his mind.
Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One Page 21