Heart of Shadows

by Martin Ash

  ‘How are you feeling?’

  Well enough. A little sore, a little confused.’

  ‘You were very brave.’

  Meglan shrugged. ‘Is Sko-ulatun truly gone?’

  ‘His Heart is destroyed, and therefore his ultimate aims are thwarted forever. He cannot contaminate our race with his seed; his spawn will never stride the world. We think he was destroyed also.’

  ‘Think?’

  ‘It’s possible that in some form he may live on, lurking in dark corners, never known. If that is so, if he still lives, he’ll be weak. He’ll never be what he was. You bested him, Meglan. You and Sildemund. Already changes are apparent. Remember always, you’re stronger than he.’

  Meglan pondered. The Father of All, such a powerful, persistent, ancient force. Can he really be gone?

  She shook her head. ‘There’s much I don’t understand. How did I survive?’

  ‘That’s what I’ve come to discuss.’ Iridin linked her fingers on her lap. ‘Did Sildemund tell you what happened in the Temple?’

  Meglan nodded.

  ‘I’d like to know your perception of it,’ Iridin said.

  ‘I thought I was going to die. It’s as simple as that.’

  ‘We were convinced you could survive. It wasn’t certain, but we would never have permitted you to do battle with Sko-ulatun had we not believed in you. But in the moment when death was upon you, what was your experience?’

  ‘It happened so quickly. I was falling. I saw… yes, I saw the face. The face of Claine, rushing towards me. I had a fleeting impression of – ‘

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘It’s hard to express. Something seemed to pour out of me, from my mouth. Sildemund tells me he saw a great vaporous serpent form, which bore me safely to the ground. I knew nothing of that. It happened too quickly.’

  Iridin nodded thoughtfully to herself. ‘Meglan, can I ask you again about your journey here, how you came upon the serpent talisman that you carried?’

  ‘I told you before, I don’t know. It’s a complete mystery to me. The talisman guided me across Dazdun’s Despair to Dharsoul. Without it I would certainly not have survived. How I came to have it, I just can’t recall. Nor do I remember leaving the road and entering the Despair. I woke up and found myself there. I’ve racked my memory again and again, but it’s no use.’

  ‘Is there nothing else you can tell us? Nothing at all?’

  ‘Just that… close to where I awoke I found something strange. A skin, something like that of a huge serpent, lying on the ground. At the time, it filled me with fear.’

  ‘This place, could you find it again?’

  Meglan shook her head. ‘Not without the talisman, and that’s gone now.’

  ‘Yes, that has gone.’

  Iridin sat silently in contemplation for some moments, until Meglan asked, ‘What happened to me? I think you know something. Tell me, please.’

  Iridin drew in a long breath. ‘Somewhere in this world we believe there exists a woman who is the embodiment of the spirit of Claine. She is a true Daughter of Serpents. Wise, party to ancient magic and knowledge both of past and future. She may not know precisely who she is. She’s probably seen as a freak, shunned by people, and would therefore live alone. We believe you came into contact with her, that she gave you something – the talisman, yes, but something else, something from within her. Almost certainly she knew something of your task and where you were bound. She helped you.’

  ‘And you want to find her?’

  ‘To welcome her into our community, to bring her back to the world. She may need our help. But – ‘ Iridin spread her hands in a gesture of resignation, ‘ – it’s probably impossible. Dazdun’s Despair is vast. Plainly she protects herself by sorcerous means, and she may no longer be there. We could search for eternity and never find her.’

  Iridin rose. ‘Be at peace here, Meglan. We hope your recovery will be swift, but that you will not rush to leave us.’

  ~

  The following day Meglan left her bed. She was reunited with Gully, and visited Picadus in his room. Pic, though barely conscious and unable to move, seemed to know her and produced a hint of a smile as she sat beside him. It would be weeks before he would be fit enough to leave, but in the meantime both Meglan and Sildemund were anxious to return home to Volm. It was therefore arranged that Picadus would remain behind, to be escorted home by Revenant fighters when he had fully recovered.

  Two nights later a banquet was held in their honour, at which they sat at the head table with the three Revenant Elders, former-Queen Lermeone and Epta. And the following morning they departed Garsh, not without a twinge of sadness. They passed through the town gate to the cheers of the Revenants, riding proudly at the head of the troop of elite Darch cavalry provided by Prince Enlos. The valley was empty now, no soldiers waited to storm the ancient hill-town. Meglan gazed around her as they rode away into the Tulmu wildlands and headed towards the Darch border and home. It was hard to believe all she had been through, all she had achieved. It was hard to believe it could be over.

  She thought back once again, with a shudder, to her final encounter with Sko-ulatun. Had she truly beaten him?

  She reached across from her saddle and grasped the hand of her brother who rode beside her. ‘We’ve come a long way,’ she said.

  Sildemund smiled. ‘Further than we know.’

  ~

  A week later they came in sight of the glittering sea and the domes and turrets of their beloved Volm in the distance. Meglan’s emotions surged. There had been so many occasions in recent days when she had wondered whether she would ever see her home and her father again. She urged her horse into a canter – recalled, for the thousandth time, Swift Cloud, stabled at the inn at Dharsoul. In two months, when they attended the coronation of the young King Enlos, she would reclaim the filly. In the meantime, she had gained the assurance of the captain of her escort that, immediately upon his return to the capital, he would personally have Swift Cloud transferred to the royal stables.

  The soldiers accelerated to keep pace with her, throwing up dense plumes of dust in the heat of late afternoon. They arrived at the outskirts of the town. Folk came from their shops and houses to watch as they clattered along the familiar streets. A few recognized them, and waved. Most simply stood, unsure of what to make of the procession.

  At last the two arrived before the shop and old house where they had lived all their lives. The windows were shuttered, the door closed. Meglan and Sildemund descended from their mounts and stood before their home, their hearts full. Half-consciously, they took one another’s hands, neither quite able to voice their feelings.

  As they made to step forward there was a sound of a latch lifting within.

  They waited. The old door opened with a creak of iron hinges. From the gloom within a shadowed figure emerged. He limped forward, leaning on a stick. His leg was bandaged but the bindings on his hands were gone.

  He stopped before them, smiling.

  ‘My children,’ he said, and threw wide his arms. ‘Welcome home.’

  Appendix

  The Zan-Chassin

  Out of the shamanistic beliefs and practices indigenous to the nation of Khimmur and its surrounding regions was born a formalized, stratified system of applied ritualized sorcery called Zan-Chassin (pronounced: Zan-Kassin). ‘Powerful Way’, ‘Path, or Ladder, of Knowledge’, ‘Mysterious Ascent’ are all approximate translations of the term. The Zan-Chassin cosmogony held that the universe was created by the Great Moving Spirit, Moban. Moban, having created all, moved on (in certain mystical circles the created world is still referred to as the Abandoned Realm). Creation was left to do as it would without interference or aid.

  Numerous modes, or realms, of being were conceived to exist within the Creation, not all of which were readily perceived by or accessible to humankind. In the normal state humans realized two domains, the corporeal and the domain of mind or intellect. The power of Zan-Chassin adepts lay in th
eir ability to transcend the limitations of these modes and enter various supra-physical domains, termed the Realms, there to interact with the spirit-entities active within them. Emphasis was also laid upon contact with the spirits of the ancestors who had passed from the physical world to dwell in the realms beyond, and who could under certain conditions be summoned to an ethereal meeting place to provide advice and guidance to their descendants in the physical.

  Where Zan-Chassin practice differed from that of the shamans of many other nations was in its systematic and even quasi-scientific approach. Understanding the nature of the Realms became paramount, resulting in the introduction of a set procedure whereby the aspiring adept, through precise training and instruction, might learn in stages both the sorcerous art and something of the nature of the realm of existence her or she was to enter, thus mitigating to some extent the inherent dangers. Previously, the non-corporeal world had been conceived of as a single realm of existence. Men and women had gone willy-nilly from their bodies to encounter with little forewarning whatever lay beyond. The risks were considerable. Many perished or were lost or driven insane by their experiences.

  The Zan-Chassin way revealed the Realms to be of varying natures, with myriad and diverse difficulties and obstacles being met within each. Just as normal humans might realize varying ‘shades’ of existence, depending upon the development of intellect, organs of sense etc., so could Zan-Chassin masters come to know and experience the differing natures of the Realms. Adepts were taught to subdue spirit-entities within each level of experience before progressing to the next, thus providing themselves with allies or helpers at each stage of their non-corporeal wanderings. The dangers, though still very real, were thus partially diminished. Aspirants progressed from one realm to the next only when adjudged ready and sufficiently equipped by their more advanced mentors.

  Nonetheless, over time many of even the most advanced and experienced ¬Zan-Chassin masters failed to survive their journeys beyond the corporeal.

  Within Khimmurian society Zan-Chassin proficiency was a key to power and influence. Practitioners generally enjoyed privileged social positions, and indeed the nation’s constitution, such as it was, became structured so that Khimmur could be ruled only by one accomplished in the sorcerous art. A few Zan-Chassin chose the anchoretic life and lived beyond society, but they were in the minority.

  To some extent the Zan-Chassin were feared or at least viewed with suspicion by normal folk, who were much prone to superstition. Their magic was not understood, their ways were somewhat strange and wondrous. The Zan-Chassin made little effort to remedy this, it being expedient in certain circumstances.

  Women enjoyed honoured status within the Zan-Chassin Hierarchy. The female more often revealed a natural affinity with the concepts of non-corporeality and spirit-communication which few men were able to emulate. They were equally highly proficient in the exploration and ‘mapping’ of the furthermost discovered territories of Moban’s great and mysterious Creation. Thus the Hierarchy remained matriarchal in character, withstanding efforts to reduce the feminine influence.

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  Acknowledgements & Bibliography

  Although it is essentially a mystery thriller set in an imaginal world, Heart of Shadows evolved out of a fascination with fairy tale and myth and a desire to explore the symbolic language these forms contain and the part it has played in the development of human culture. Research led down diverse and often unexpected paths, embracing subjects ranging from philosophy and psychoanalytical theory, to social anthropology, evolutionary biology, shamanic tradition, mysticism and the occult, genetics, feminism and more. Among others, the work of C.J. Jung, Joseph Campbell, the Brothers Grimm and Bruno Bettelheim proved invaluable sources of reference, as did J.G. Frazer’s The Golden Bough and Robert Graves’s The Greek Myths. A study of palaeoanthropological thought, custom and ritual, and the origins of culture, with emphasis on the role of women and an understanding of the transition from ancient, far from idyllic but possibly universal goddess worship to the patriarchal god figure(s) that persist to this day, was instrumental in the decoding of worldwide myths, religious tracts and fairy tales.

  This theme is further explored in my next novel, Citadel.

  For those interested in pursuing the subject more deeply, there’s a list of recommended books overleaf.

  I hope you have enjoyed Heart of Shadows. If so, please take a moment to leave a short (or indeed, long!) review on Amazon:

  Heart of Shadows (Second Chronicle of the Shaman)

  Thank you,

  Martin Ash.

  If you have enjoyed HEART OF SHADOWS, I invite you to check out my other novels:

  Moonblood (First Chronicle of the Shaman)

  Citadel (Third Chronicle of the Shaman)

  Enchantment’s Reach (Volumes I-VI)

  Recommended:

  ANDERSEN, H.C Fairy Tales (Pavilion 1992)

  BASTOS, J.G.P; CARDIGOS, I; KNIGHT, C.D. Maidens, Snakes and Dragons (CESIL, 1991)

  BETTELHEIM, B. The Uses of Enchantment (Penguin 1978)

  BETTELHEIM, B. Symbolic Wounds (Thames & Hudson 1955)

  CAMPBELL, J. The Masks of God (Penguin 1969)

  CAMPBELL, J. The Hero With A Thousand Faces (Fontana Press 1993)

  CAPRA, F. The Turning Point (Flamingo 1982)

  CARTER, A. The Bloody Chamber (Penguin 1981)

  COX, M.R. Cinderella: Three Hundred and Forty-Five Variants (The Folk-Lore Society, David Nutt 1957)

  FRAZER, J.G. The Golden Bough (Macmillan 1957)

  GARDNER, L. Genesis of the Grail Kings (Bantam 1999)

  GRAVES, R. The Greek Myths (Penguin 1975)

  GREER, G. The Female Eunuch (Paladin 1971)

  GRIMM, J & W. The Complete Grimms’ Fairy-Tales (Bantam 1992)

  JUNG, C. J. Selected Writings (Fontana 1983)

  JUNG C. J. Aspects of the Feminine (Routledge 1982)

  KNIGHT, C. D. Blood Relations (Yale University Press 1991)

  KNIGHT, C. D. De-Coding Fairy-Tales (RAG, Ian Watts, 1989)

  LEVI-STRAUSS, C. Mythologiques (Cape 1970-81)

  REDGROVE, P. & SHUTTLE, P. The Wise Wound (Penguin 1985)

  SMITH, J. Misogynies (Faber 1989)

  STONE, M. When God Was a Woman (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich 1976)

  ZIPES, J. The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood (Heinemann 1983)