An Elegy of Heroes

by K. S. Villoso

  Kefier closed his eyes for a moment and then turned to Bannal. “Tell me how you know all of this.”

  “Any fool could’ve come to the conclusion after you triggered traps intended for Yn Garr’s pup. I’m sure we all recall your memorable arrival on the island. Yn Garr has been a thorn at my side for a long time, but the past few years he’s been deferring a lot of his responsibilities to this Ylir—known elsewhere as Hertra Ylir yn Ferral. A few years ago, Ylir attacked a group of our mages travelling along the border of Kiel. Only one survived and the journal in their keeping was stolen. He attacked us a second time, but I was in the party and managed to drive him away; we made efforts to bolster our defences, then, thinking it won’t be a matter of time before he makes an attempt on the island. We didn’t think it would be so soon, though.”

  “Why are you telling me all this?”

  “So that you’re aware how dangerous these men are. Underneath that honeyed exterior, Ylir is ruthless, and I highly doubt that he will care should he also learn that you’re his brother.” Bannal walked back to his desk and pulled out a roll of parchment. “That said, they’ll probably turn any of my men into an arrow pincushion should they take one step on the mainland. I need you to take this to him—only to him, you understand. You should be able to convince him to meet up with you alone.”

  Kefier didn’t take the scroll. “What if I don’t do this?”

  “Well, we’ll be trapped here until they get tired of attacking or we all die.” Bannal didn’t really look like he believed that. “If you decide to do anything but this simple task I’ve asked—well, let’s just say that I don’t think your Jinsein boy or your kusyan would appreciate that.”

  “You’re actually using them.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can to save my people. Can you say the same thing?”

  “I wouldn’t know. Weren’t you paying attention? I was never chief.” He got up. “So all I do is take this scroll to him, and come back with his answer to your terms.”

  Bannal nodded. “For his eyes only.”

  “Then you’ll let us walk free. Dai and Xyl with me.”

  “If they stop their attack, of course.”

  He took a deep breath and nodded. “Get the boat ready, then. You’re coming with me, Sapphire?”

  She gave a mirthless smile. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  Chapter Six

  They took the boat sometime after sunset, when the attacks had ceased for the night. Sapphire had to put up a barrier that, according to her, allowed their small party to leave undetected. Even though Yn Garr had an army at their doorstep, he had few mages at his disposal. Sapphire was convinced that it was unlikely they would expect anyone to leave.

  “In the old days,” she was saying, zapping the mosquitoes that swarmed them with sparks of energy from her fingers, “This wouldn’t be an issue because our mages would have been trained for warfare. That, at least, was something we took from the Dageians. But Bannal’s mages are scholars. We know so much of how the world works, and the mysteries of the flow of agan, and we know how to defend ourselves against small bands of robbers, but we never expected—are you listening to me, Kefier?”

  He wasn’t, really. As he worked the oars, he was gazing up at the grey sky fringed by treetops. Enosh, he remembered, loved twilight. His brother was a bit of a poet, an old romantic. The best thinking happens in the dusk, he’d once said. Kefier never really blamed Ailat for choosing him. That was an old, childish wound, one he had not thought about for years.

  My brother is alive. Amidst his confusion, the feeling was intoxicating. He remembered afternoons at the beach searching for shells while their father whittled figures from sticks. Swimming races and Enosh pretending to let him win. Breakfasting in their hut in the rain, their father singing while he roasted fish on hot coals outside. He even recalled waking up in his mother’s arms on a quiet morning with Enosh beside them and just lying there, listening to them breathe.

  “Kefier.” Sapphire was looking at him, a strange expression on her face. “Are you going to be all right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She paused for a moment, considering her words. “This errand isn’t as simple as you think. There is a very high possibility that Ylir yn Garr won’t be very happy with the news you bring. Lord Bannal wants this done, but I think we might have to fight for our lives to get out of there. Ylir might have been your brother once, but I doubt you know him as well as we’ve come to over the years.”

  “He employed Boarshind men the last few months before I left. They said he was fair.”

  “Not to his enemies.” She tapped her fingers along the side of the boat. “I hope you realize that this isn’t as simple as fighting over a dead woman’s journals. You remember that creature we saw? Out in the plains?” Kefier nodded. She gave a grim smile. “I didn’t tell him about that incident.”

  “That’s surprising. You seem like you worship the ground he walks on.”

  She snorted. “Bannal is as bad as the rest of them. Had I encountered the creature alone, then he would have known about it immediately. Better if we found a way to capture it. But the kusyan and the boy were there. Moon was there. Telling the story as it was, he would have attempted to probe their minds, regardless of the consequences.”

  “You didn’t seem to have a problem with him doing that to me,” Kefier laughed.

  She remained serious. “You’re strong. You held your own. Moon’s not, on that regard. He could have melted her mind into a puddle. I didn’t want to risk that.”

  “Ah. So you are still human, after all.”

  “Be quiet and pay attention. Surely you know of Sarohkitram, the beast Naijwa conjured in Hilal hundreds of years ago. The Kag is rife with legends of it.”

  “One that I know of. She created creatures that still roam the Kag to this day.” He swallowed and remembered Faci, Xyl’s grandfather. He had spoken about her too. “I also know that she was angry about something and destroyed her hometown.”

  “She was in love with a Dageian man, maybe even Dageis itself. What mage wouldn’t love Dageis? It is a home unlike what so many mages know. But Dageis declared war on Gaspar and when she returned she learned that her father and brothers had been sent to fight and were dead. The villagers killed her mother. Her temper was a force to be reckoned with, so they say.”

  “Like all women.”

  She glared at him. “She was also pregnant. She didn’t think twice about it—she was angry at Dageis and thought it appropriate that a child of Dageis would bring about its destruction. So she gave birth to her unborn child early and she used her skill in the agan to turn it into a beast. It was a distorted creature—the texts say it had a heart that beat outside its body and was strapped against what would have been its spine. It spurted a dark liquid—its blood, perhaps—which turned the ground black where it landed. To move, it crawled like a spider with human hands and feet.

  “It killed everyone in Hilal. Not at once. It ate those it caught while people tried to flee in fear. Those who tried to get close to it found themselves overwhelmed—by what, exactly, they couldn’t say, but I think we both know now what they meant. Your thoughts start running into each other. I think it affects people differently—Moon fell almost immediately, but I managed to hold on. You didn’t seem as bothered.”

  “I smelled something rank,” he said. “Not unlike a dead body. But stronger, like a chemical.” He swallowed. “It made me want to throttle anyone beside me.”

  “The beast ate, and each time it ate it grew. Naijwa was going to take it all the way to the border and unleash it on the Dageian soldiers. By then, I think, she’d grown mad, or else how was she planning to seize control of a beast that was clearly no longer hers? It killed her, of course. Almost an appropriate end. I have studied this story for most of my life and I have never felt remorse for that unbelievable bitch.

  “Raggnar rog-Bannal arrived before the beast could leave town. He and his mage
s used all their skill to contain the beast. It couldn’t be killed. At least, they couldn’t figure out a way how—the limbs fused each time they were hacked off and its blood was poison that reeked like acid. It grew stronger with each mage it killed, too. But eventually, Raggnar found a way to seal parts of it with strong magic. This proved more manageable, and his mages left to hide each piece, knowing they will attempt to combine should they ever be brought back together. Accounts of all of these were destroyed, or hidden.

  “This—this is what Yn Garr has been after. Over the years, Lord Bannal has been trying to thwart his every step, gathering the records before he could. It seems as if Yn Garr beat him to a part of the creature first. That box your brother retrieved from the temple in Gorent contained a piece of Sarohkitram. It was entrusted to Jaeth, a mage who was also chief of Agantuan village. Your ancestor.”

  Kefier pressed his hands together and was silent for a while. The boat lost momentum and drifted in a circle, like a lily pad. “I don’t understand. That creature we saw—it didn’t look like just a piece.”

  “When we returned to Enji, I tried to draw my own research before I presented anything to Bannal. I’ve come to the conclusion that parts of the beast functioned independently and grew stronger when they consumed anything. That explains the creature we saw. Its prominent feature is an eye, and indeed, it was the creature’s single eye that Jaeth was entrusted with. Somewhere along the line, someone fed it, and it grew limbs and got to be as big as what you saw.”

  “Dai said that the men fed it with children.”

  “It is not as strong as the whole beast or we would have never survived that encounter.”

  “But it’s dead now, isn’t it? We saw the dragon kill it.” Kefier leaned back and picked up the oars again.

  Sapphire licked her lips. “I don’t know. I’m worried about this attack. If Yn Garr had lost his one asset, he wouldn’t be here.” She turned to the shoreline. “We’re getting close. I don’t think they’ll see us land, but be ready when they do. Kefier, you understand now? Your brother is working for Yn Garr. Whatever they have planned involves releasing Naijwa’s beast back into the world. I love my sister, but if Moon was in his place, I would stick the dagger into her heart myself.”

  Enosh saw him standing in the distance with one of Bannal’s mages. For a long moment, the fact wouldn’t register in his brain. Kefier was standing there. Kefier, his brother, whom he had last seen huddled in the dark under a meat vendor’s stand. He had named himself Doras, but his brother was intelligent enough to recognize him as Ylir, despite his disguise. That had given him a moment of pride. His enchantments weren’t easy to break, especially when he was trying as hard as he’d been that day.

  Being Enosh was a different story altogether. That he had thrown away the moment Yn Garr took him from the island. Or so he thought he did. When Kefier stepped out of the brush behind his men and into the sunlight, his arms fell limp, a thousand feelings rushing into him at once. He wanted to embrace his brother. He wanted to shake him. He wanted to sit with him in a corner away from all of this and ask what he’d done the past years they’ve been apart. Tell me about this girl, he wanted to say. Does she love you back? Is there anything we can do? If we dress you up a little, and she found out you’re brother to an apprentice of one of the richest men in the Kag, maybe...

  Kefier came up to him. “We come with a message from Bannal.” He looked straight at him, something few men did.

  “I didn’t realize you worked for Bannal now.” Enosh glanced at the woman in blue robes and gave her a cursory nod. She stared at him as if he had an extra head. “He really is an interesting character, isn’t he? So what does he want? The last time we spoke, he attempted to strike at me with a sword. I trust he’s learned his lesson since.”

  “He gave me no such order.” Enosh saw him hesitate, eyes dancing. They were the colour of the sea. A good omen, their father had said when they all realized that the colour was there to stay. “However, I was to speak with you alone, away from your men. The message is meant for your ears only.”

  A moment of silence followed the audacity of his words. Even Enosh found himself smiling, wondering what Bannal had done to dupe Kefier into thinking this was a reasonable request. He was about to point this out when Gaven strode into the clearing and started clapping in applause.

  “Well done, Kefier, well done,” Gaven said, his face twisted into a sneer. “You’ve finally moved up in life. And here I thought you’ve gone and done us all a favour by getting yourself eaten by the wildlife. Now you’re Bannal’s errand boy? Wonderful. Just stand back, Sir Ylir, we don’t want blood on your beautiful leather boots, now.” His hand was on his sword.

  Enosh held out his hand. “Stand down. Nobody asked you to get involved.” He had pulled his brother out of this mad man’s grasp back in the Kag. The last thing he needed was to see all that work unravelled. When Gaven didn’t step back, he stood and physically blocked the space between them. “I’ll speak with him.”

  “It’s going to be a trap,” Gaven snarled. “That man can’t be trusted. You realize he killed a man who saved his life, who took him in when no one else would?”

  “Those are old rumours that need to stay inside the faction where they belong. Don’t drag that mess into my business.”

  “I’m now responsible for this operation just as much as you are. The last time I checked, you have no authority over me.”

  “Nor you to me,” Enosh said, his voice dropping. “Stand down, Gaven. Have you not heard stories of the men who have crossed me before? Don’t make the same mistake they have.”

  Gaven licked his lips, and he could see him wrestling with the idea of cutting him down to get to Kefier. But the moment passed. He stepped back and nodded. Enosh gestured to Kefier.

  “When you’re done, he’s mine,” Gaven called to their backs.

  They strode up a path through the forest. Enosh felt oddly composed now, despite the nagging irritation at what Gaven had made him do. Kefier was being very quiet. They started up a hill overlooking the rest of the camp and here he stopped to gaze back at him. “I didn’t realize Bannal employed outsiders. From what I understand, he prefers to be closeted with his mages.”

  “Enosh,” Kefier said, looking up.

  The sound of that old name from his brother’s lips felt like a dagger to his heart. He tried not to show it. “So,” he replied softly. “You know, now.” He dropped the glamour and saw Kefier’s eyes flicker, looking at him now as himself, as he had always been. “How long have you known?”

  Perhaps Kefier had expected him to react differently. He read disappointment in his eyes, and then suspicion, and then anger. “Long enough,” Kefier said at last. He was fishing for words. “So you’ve known even longer. Well, of course you would have. You would have known me the moment you saw me. I didn’t have the luxury of doing whatever that is you just did. Dageian magery, is it?”

  “Close enough.”

  “Stuff Gorrhen taught you? Oh, I’m sorry. It’s actually Yn Garr.” Kefier’s face tightened. “I never cared that you ran around with him for whatever reason. But you’ve been alive all these years and you never sent word. I thought you were dead.”

  “It was better that way.”

  “Better how? Everyone blamed me for your death. A murderer can never be chief, let alone a bastard, even if he was the only one of the lineage left. Nor could he stay in the village. They made Hilkiah chief and the first thing he did was get rid of me.”

  “So you left.”

  “They sold me to a passing Dageian ship. I was a slave until Oji got me out and then I was a mercenary until—” He trailed off, his hands quivering. “You were alive and you didn’t send word,” he finally mumbled. “You wanted to leave so bad? You could have taken me with you.”

  Enosh took a deep breath. “I was...indisposed.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Ke-if, I was nearly dead. The fall left me a vegetable for years.” />
  A pallor crossed Kefier’s face. “You could have still let me know, when you found me,” he said after a moment. “Unless you were ashamed of what I’d been, of what I am, compared to what you are now.”

  Enosh didn’t answer, and Kefier realized he had hit the nail on the head. Enosh, smart, intelligent Enosh, the apple of their father’s eye, was ashamed of him. Was it even a surprise? Bad enough that he wasn’t as smart, that he struggled with the things that came as easily as breathing to his more talented older brother. He then had to get himself mixed with lowlifes—with murderers and thieves. And now? Lisa was just trying to make himself feel better when she told him those words. You’re not like them. He was. The whole world knew he was. Nothing he did could ever remove that taint.

  Kefier took a deep breath and shrugged. “I have this to give you, and then you need to give me your word that Sapphire and I can return to the island unharmed.” He reached into his pack and pulled out a small scroll, bound with golden thread.

  “Likely he’ll want a response, yes? My ink pots and parchment are in my pavilion. Come.” Enosh took the scroll, but didn’t open it. They made their way up the hill. His tent was set up where the ground stood flat. White smoke billowed through the chimney pipe. In the distance, the silhouette of the island seemed like a painting.

  He pulled the canvas aside. “Come on in.” Kefier glanced at him for an instant before ducking into the entrance.

  It was not that dark inside the pavilion, but it took Kefier’s eyes a moment to adjust, anyway. It was larger than it looked on the outside. Fur rugs were piled in one corner, serving as the bed, and a short desk stood on the other side. There was also a stove with a steaming teapot on top of it.

  A figure stirred from the far side of the tent. A woman, he realized with a start. He suddenly felt embarrassed. “Oh, you should have warned me we would have a visitor,” the woman said, turning. In that light, her face half-hidden by shadows, Kefier thought he saw a ghost and stifled a gasp.