Heart of Shadows

by Martin Ash

  Sildemund’s vision seemed to suffer a distortion. It was probably the heat-addled air, combined with his mental exhaustion, but in the brief instant that he glimpsed this second figure it appeared to him that it was misshapen, that it was not entirely human.

  As the two figures passed from view Sildemund turned back in his saddle to face the way ahead. Tears stung his eyes and he forced them back. How he longed to be home now, with his dear family! How he yearned for an end to all this!

  ~

  Late in the morning the company halted to rest and take sustenance at a caravanserai beside the way. Messengers had plainly been sent on ahead to give forewarning of their arrival, for food and drink in quantities sufficient to satisfy such a large body of troops and their horses were in an advanced state of preparation. Dozens of serving staff rushed hither and thither within the caravanserai’s walls. Sildemund imagined the proprietor must have summoned them out of air, for such a large staff could not be typical.

  Whatever prior clientele there were had been ushered from the main compound and serving rooms. Awnings had been erected to provide shade, and beneath one of these Sildemund and his companions were situated, away from the others, with guards positioned nearby. Picadus remained apart, his guards at alert beside him.

  The proprietor, a fat, round-faced fellow, fell over himself in his efforts to accommodate the desires of his illustrious customers. With gestures of humility coupled with puffed-up pride, he showed Prince Enlos and his officers and Master Kemorlin into the interior. The Queen, Sildemund noted, did not leave her carriage. Its drapes remained drawn and it was surrounded by soldiers.

  Dinbig of Khimmur was escorted indoors, presumably for discussion with Enlos. A few minutes later his guards brought him out again and he rejoined Sildemund and Gully beneath the awning. They, and the troops, were served mounds of doughbread packets stuffed with spiced meat and salad, with flagons of cool water. As they ate Sildemund found the opportunity to ply Dinbig with more questions.

  ‘Why’re we going to Garsh, Master Dinbig? What’s its relevance to the Heart of Shadows?’

  Dinbig chewed thoughtfully, a small frown on his brow. He swallowed, raised a mug to his lips, took a long draught of water, then said, ‘Have you heard of the Book of the Beginning?’

  Sildemund and Gully shook their heads.

  ‘I suspected not. It’s perhaps the most ancient book, the first ever conceived, and details events that occurred long before history began. No one knows who compiled it, but within it there is a myth concerning the origin of our species, ancient beyond telling. Numerous versions exist. I’ve come across comparable tales in several different cultures. They vary quite widely, but certain core ideas, symbols, images can be seen to be common to all. The Book of the Beginning contains the earliest known version, and is considered to be the original. It’s little known, and be warned…’ He inclined his head towards Sildemund and Gully, glancing at the guards and lowering his voice. ‘…there is danger in its telling.’

  He briefly closed his eyes as if to gather his thoughts, and when he spoke again, his voice still low, he seemed to be reciting from memory. ‘ “I shall reveal to you the tale of the First Woman, who was born out of the Pleroma, the endless stuff of the Cosmic that is the Boundless Infinite - created along with all else out of the divine desire of the Universe to know itself and its mysteries and wonders. She was the first sentient creature. Other creatures there were, but they did not know that they were. They saw, but did not know that they saw. First Woman knew that she was, knew that others also were. She saw herself and knew that she was both within and embracing all else.

  ‘ “First Woman delighted in the world, its beauty and wonders, but she wept at the harshness and suffering that its denizens endured. She walked the land and through her powers gave life to things that had no life, caused flowers to grow and bloom, brought new species into being, assisted those creatures that knew privation and pain. But she was alone, and as the centuries passed she longed for the companionship of her own kind. She saw that all things passed in their own time, and knew that her time must one day come. And she grieved, for she wanted her kind to live on, that they might be guardians of the world.

  ‘ “So she formed a seed from her pure essence, mingled with rock, water, fire and air, and she gathered this and took it into herself, nurtured it within her wholeness, and in due course Man was born from her loins.

  ‘ “Unbeknown to First Woman, other things had come into being during the time that she had walked the world. Invisible things, dark spirits, demons, creatures of mischief and corruption. They perceived what First Woman did and they sought to unwork it; before she took it into herself they touched with their own taint this seed that she had created, so that when at last it was born its soul held a concealed darkness, and its heart was neither pure nor true.

  ‘ “First Woman and First Man loved, and from their love were born the children who were the parents of mankind. But First Man was not wise nor knowing. He coupled with First Woman for joy alone, not seeing that from this act the race was born. When her belly grew big and babies slipped from between her legs, he knew it as a miracle. His love of her grew; he fell down and worshipped her as a goddess. All across the land he erected temples and shrines in her name, for her perceived her as the one Source of Life.

  ‘ “Time passed and his love and reverence began to change. He knew the first promptings of envy, and even of fear. First Woman possessed the power of creation and of procreation; he in his ignorance perceived himself as being without purpose, a mere adjunct. Out of jealousy, fear and, later, hatred, he sought ways to deprive First Woman of her power, to make it his own.

  ‘ “He sowed dissent against her among their daughters and sons, and the progeny of their daughters and sons. He smashed and burned the temples he had erected to her, razing them to the ground, and besought others to do likewise. He erased from the land all traces of her, destroyed her symbols, that none might ever learn of the power she possessed. He eliminated her name and gave their children his own. He decreed that henceforth all progeny should bear the name of the father, in honour of himself. In his name he built new temples, that his children and his children’s children might worship Him.

  ‘ “And he coupled with his daughters, and with the daughters of his daughters, so that their children were born of his own seed, hence the taint that had been worked in him before he was born was passed on, corrupting the blood of the future.

  ‘ “Witnessing all this, First Woman grieved. All had turned against her. She found herself alone and reviled, her works forgotten as the word of her lover spread, poisoning hearts and minds against her. For days and nights she wept, not knowing what to do. First Man, who she still loved, was yet her enemy. She knew that if he had his way he would destroy her along with all her works.

  ‘ “She took herself to him one day and confronted him with what he had done. She told him all, explaining his place in the creation of the race, of which he remained ignorant. Hearing this he was at first repentant, but the bitterness in his heart bore him down and caused him to resent her the more. She saw that it was too late. She said to him, with tears in her eyes, ‘I know that you love me and that you wish to love me, but such conflict is within you that you despise and fear me too. You both desire and are repulsed, want to give and yet are consumed with jealousy. You come close so that, from fear, you can learn to take the power I have. In truth you remain far away. Your tenderness becomes an instrument that you use to subordinate me. And you truly do not know why you do this. You do not know what you do. You do not know the heart that beats in your own breast. But this heart has turned against me and will never be turned back, for it has turned too far. It lies deep in shadows cast by your own shame-ridden nature.

  ‘ “We have been lovers. We should have been friends. But you have been betrayed by your own jealous heart, and in turn you have betrayed me. You have brought impurity to our kind, and have elected to force enmity between
us.

  ‘ “I created you. I gave you my whole heart, that perfection might be born into this world out of our love. You took my heart and I believed you gave yours, but it was pretence, and in truth you held both for yourself. You stole mine and betrayed it, sullying its purity, wanting to cloud it with the shadows of your own. Your greed and ignorance has destroyed everything that might have been. I take your heart then, now, in fitting requital, that it may never again be an instrument of destruction.

  ‘ “And she took his heart and left a chasm in his chest that would endure for all eternity. She encaged the heart in bars of rare exigen extracted from flaming star-stones that had fallen from the firmament, and these he might never touch. She secretly buried it deep in the earth’s bowels where he would not find it. And she cast First Man from her, believing that, heartless, he must quickly perish, but knowing that for the remainder of his days he would be bound to search for that which had been taken from him.

  ‘ “And she was anguished, for it cost her sorely to do this. She took herself away in sorrow and grief, believing that all she had striven for had been in vain. Her children were sullied, and so would be the generations that would follow. She languished alone for a thousand long years, having no further contact with man or beast, until at last she died.

  ‘ “But First Man did not die. Even heartless, he lived on. Because of the work of the demons he became like them, immortal and wicked, given to depravity and lust. He stalked the earth alone, seeking, ever seeking that shadowed heart that had been wrenched from him. To sustain himself he fed upon the hearts of others, and took delight in their forms and their suffering.

  ‘ “And his own heart, buried deep, because of the demonic stuff with which it also was imbued, turned to stone, a stone harder and colder than any stone in the world. Yet it still held to life, a travesty of life, a pulsing, evil, insentient thing, without purpose unless the day came when it could become one again with the hollow creature that sought it.

  ‘ “It is said that First Man is still upon the world, demonic, unhuman, ever seeking the heart he has lost. His name is Sko-ulatun, and there are folk steeped in darkness and evil who worship him and seek to help him find his fullness.

  ‘ “And the name of the First Woman, who is gone forever, was Claine.” ‘

  ~

  Sildemund was still, and thoughtful. The first name, Sko-ulatun, meant nothing to him, but the second…

  ‘The Revenants of Claine…’ he said in a low breath.

  Dinbig gave a nod. ‘Reincarnates, so they claim. They assert themselves to be the pure progeny of First Woman, reborn again and again over millennia.'

  ‘It’s true?’

  ‘Who can say what is or isn’t true in matters of this kind? Who can say the Book of the Beginning is truth or make believe?’

  ‘But if it is, if they are reincarnating over and over for so long, why? What is their purpose?’

  ‘That’s what we go to discover.’

  ‘That woman,’ Sildemund nodded his head towards a spot some distance away, in the shadow of the compound wall, where the woman in red and brown rags sat eating alone, a pair of guards close by, ‘what’s her part?’

  ‘She was brought to the Palace early this morning, so the Prince and Supreme Haruspices might clearly hear the message that the Revenants of Claine preach. I don’t know what she said but it helped sway them. For the first time they took seriously words that had previously been deemed the rantings of lunatics. They saw a correspondence with what has occurred. I’ll speak to the guards and ask if she might join us, if you wish.’

  Sildemund nodded. Dinbig rose and approached the nearest guard. After a moment the guard set off towards the centre of the compound where the mass of soldiery sat at tables. Dinbig returned. ‘He seeks a higher authority. No doubt his immediate superior will require the same, and so on. We may have a long wait.’

  ‘This tale you’ve told us,’ said Gully, ‘I’ve heard something like it, but in the version told to me as a child it is First Man who brings First woman into the world. It’s she who betrays him and is punished, for by her actions the human race is brought down.’

  Sildemund nodded. ‘I’ve heard it that way, too.’

  ‘That’s the official version, the accepted version,’ said Dinbig. ‘The one I’ve given you predates it by centuries. It’s deemed subversive and has been suppressed for longer than I know. Its supposed message is considered unfit for the people. Hence I speak with caution. To repeat this tale – in effect, even to know it – is a criminal offence. Take care, then, for I’ve given you information that could lead automatically to another sentence of death.’

  Gully gave a mirthless smile. ‘How many times can a man be executed?’

  ‘Just the once. But his careless words or actions may condemn others.’

  Sildemund watched the Khimmurian, thinking, ‘Yet again you hint that you may share our fate, for the Prince and the Haruspices must be aware now that, as well as knowing what happened in Dharsoul, you have knowledge of this forbidden myth. But are you condemned because of it?’

  Thoughts of the red stone intruded. He slid his fingers unhappily over the cold satchel at his side. ‘So we have disinterred the mythical stone, the Heart of Shadows, and now we take it to Garsh, to the Revenants of Claine. What then? And what of this monster, Sko-ulatun?’

  ‘I can answer neither question with any degree of certainty, for I truly know little,’ Dinbig replied. ‘Our friend, the Revenant, may be better informed. Of Sko-ulatun I know nothing, but if he exists it is almost certain that he will be on the trail of this stone.’

  He looked around him, perhaps in the hope or some indication that his request to interview the Revenant of Claine had been granted.

  ‘Master Dinbig, what happened this morning, at the Palace?’ said Sildemund suddenly. ‘You employed magic, did you not? Influencing the Haruspices to influence our release?’

  ‘Was I that unsubtle? Oh dear, I must brush up my skills.’

  ‘I was watching you closely. You’d already used it to help me, hadn’t you?’

  ‘It was a safeguard. You might have ruined everything – you or your companion, Picadus. He’s in a bad state, but as it happened, his outburst helped to deflect attention from me.’

  ‘What did you do? How did you change their minds?’

  ‘I wish that I had changed their minds! No, that isn’t so simple a thing to achieve. I just enhanced their receptiveness to what was already present. Their minds were closed. Clamped shut. I eased open the door a little.’

  ‘Then what was it that was already there?’

  ‘The knowledge that this has been foretold. They initially responded to the sole fact that the Queen had been heard to speak. That could not be made public. Hence, it was necessary for you to be terminally silenced, ostensibly to save the Queen. However, as we are all aware, there is an ulterior motive, which is essentially to maintain the status quo. Should the Queen die and Enlos succeed to the throne, the Haruspices will lose their extraordinary plenipotentiary status. Under a male sovereign they become little more than advisors. Thus they disregarded, at first – or may even have been genuinely ignorant of – the greater issue: the fact that the Heart of Shadows has been unearthed. What saved you – for now, at least – is the realization that the ancient writings state that the Heart of Shadows will be borne to the capital by the unknowing. My task was simply to alert the Haruspices – as Queen Lermeone also strove to do – to that fact and its connection with Garsh, and let them understand the wisdom of allowing the unknowing to also bear the Heart from Dharsoul before Sko-ulatun can regain it.’

  ‘Then our thanks to you.’

  Dinbig raised a hand. ‘I haven’t secured your release, merely a stay of execution. And as I said earlier, you may not thank me for that. You’re on a path fraught with perils, and when this business is done – if it’s done – make no mistake, your troubles will be far from over. The Haruspices are powerful and dangerous men.
They will want your lives.’

  After a silence, Sildemund asked, ‘What are the consequences of Sko-ulatun regaining the Heart?’

  ‘Again, I don’t know. The answer may lie in Garsh, if we succeed in entering that place. But for all I know it might no longer exist. Its inhabitants may have already been slain by Tulmu troops. The Revenants claim extraordinary knowledge, linked, I’m coming to believe, with the Heart of Shadows. But Tulmua has long been tired of their presence. When Revenants started leaving Garsh to renew their preachings in towns and cities – breaking the terms of their occupancy of Garsh – Tulmua became impatient. An official delegation was sent to Garsh to speak with the elders of Claine. Last night, in conversation with Prince Enlos, I learned that upon reaching Garsh these delegates were murdered. It goes against the creed of Claine, yet it’s apparently true. Hence the siege which, as I say, may already have terminated in violence.’

  ‘And Kemorlin? Why is he with us?’

  ‘Ah, that’s yet another facet in this strange affair. But it’s a tale too involved to relate now.’

  Sildemund had another question, which was to ask again how exactly Dinbig had become involved in all this, and what precise part he played. But the Zan-Chassin adept had risen to his feet, muttering something about talking to Prince Enlos, so for the present nothing more was said.

  XIX

  For the remainder of that day Meglan had plodded on across the scorched desolation of Dazdun’s Despair, lost in her mind, bereft, with barely the will to keep her eyes on the serpent talisman which swung back and forth from her wrist. The sky glared; the land was an unbroken waste suspended behind a film of heat-haze.

  Over and over again she railed at herself. Jans was dead. She shed tears of grief, of mute anger and of sheer self-pity. She knew dread of the creature that pursued her, who might be anywhere, and another fear that she might be lost, that the serpent had led her false, that she might never emerge from the Despair.