Chalice turned to Jeremiah who met her inquiring stare. She then turned an eye to the old man and asked politely: “Who is my father, Master Graeystone?” Given her treatment of him, she thought a little respect was due.
“Please, call me Ben.”
“Alright, Ben. Who is my father?”
Ben hesitated for moment and then said slowly: “Your father is King Duquaine, the Rightful King of the Realm and a scion of the Ielierian.”
Chalice’s heart sank. She hung her head again and rubbed her temples. Her head was no longer hurting, but she knew what being a daughter of the King meant and she didn’t want to believe it.
“I told you, Chalice!” Jeremiah laughed “I told you!”
“Why do you think I can help you find him?” she asked the old man.
“Because of your prophecy.”
“My prophecy? What are you talking about?” She knew what he was talking about, but still asked the question.
“There is a book with the sign or you could say the sigil of your amulet,” he said and Chalice pulled out the pendant from under the neck of her riding dress to examine it. “It’s the sign of your birthright. It is also the mark on your shoulder.”
How did he know that?! Releasing her pendant, she listened in amazement. She was starting to wonder if this stranger knew more about her than she did.
“He is talking about the Delphaline, Chalice,” Jeremiah said. “You are so determined to deny it!” Shaking his head, he pulled the book out of his saddlebag and laid it in her lap. Silently, she placed her hand on the front cover. Kirna and Tycho just sat there gaping. They couldn’t believe it.
Jeremiah couldn’t understand why she looked so sad. A young woman discovering she is princess shouldn’t make her sad, should it? But it did.
“I’ve always thought it was just a book of stories,” Jeremiah said to Ben. “What is it then?”
Ben puffed a ring of smoke. “Common knowledge, for those who know, is that it is just that, a book of stories, but in reality it is much more. It is a book of prophecy written by the first and only Terravailian Seer, who lived a long time ago during the Ice Age. Every entry in that book is a prophecy. There are many that have been fulfilled and some we are not sure about. When a prophecy is about to take place, a child is born that will fulfill it. Chalice is one of those children. Her story is the last and marks the end of the era of prophecy. No one is certain if there will be any more or if there will even be a need.”
Chalice was suddenly reminded of what Bunejab told his wásötah. “Ben, what is a child of the Elîn’Mörá?”
“How did you hear about that?”
“We heard it when we were taken before the Chinukan King and Queen,” Jeremiah answered. “That’s what Bunejab told them, that Chalice was a child of the Elîn’Mörá. It’s why they let us pass over the mountain. He also said something about the Rôi’Státchèn and a return to the First Time. What does any of that mean?”
“Hmmm, I would like to hear more about that visit later, but for the moment, let’s stick to the conversation at hand. Chalice is a child of prophecy. This is what the child of the Elîn’Mörá is. The Chinuka have their own prophecy about a child who will bring about an end to the Rôi’Státchèn and a return to the First Time. The Rôi’Státchèn, or the Way of Peace, is the period of time that the Chinuka have been isolated from the world. The First Time is the era when they aided humans during the Haeliad. They taught them how to live and showed them how to survive in the world outside the underground cities. In return for their help, the Terravail created the mountain dwellings that you must have seen in Chinukan villages. These dwellings allowed the Chinuka to live high up in the mountains. This was helpful whenever there was a war and they needed to escape to a safe place. Unfortunately, it was war involving the Terravail that led to the Rôi’Státchèn. A return to the First Time means that the Chinuka will open their doors to the world of humans once again. Not all of them are looking forward to it.”
“How do you know so much about them and their villages?” Jeremiah asked.
Ben smiled knowingly. “I have a way of getting there. I am the only one of the Terravail who does.” Jeremiah’s eyebrows shot up in interest. “I will show you sometime.”
“I’d like to see that,” Jeremiah said and paused for a moment as if something had just occurred to him. “Bunejab also mentioned a return of the Naezzi. What is that?”
“Ah, the Naezzi,” Ben said sadly, examining his pipe. “It is a sore subject and a sad one. Let’s not talk about it right now. No one knows what happened to them or if they are even still alive.”
“What is a child of prophecy?” Kirna asked, finally breaking her silence. “What does that mean exactly?”
“A child of prophecy is a child that is marked from birth.”
“You mean, a child with a birthmark?” Tycho asked and Ben nodded. Then, Tycho suddenly shot up from his chair, removing the Bunejab-treated ice pack from his eye; not surprisingly, his eye looked much better.
“Really?! I’ve got a birthmark. On my arm. See!” he said eagerly and showed Ben the strange mark on his forearm that looked like a chicken with an enormous head. “Am I a child of prophecy?”
Chalice snorted. Really, Tycho could make you laugh in any situation.
Ben smiled. “No, unfortunately not, Tycho. They are marked with not just any birthmark, but with one that is distinct and identical to one of the entries in the Delphaline.”
Chalice leaned over and showed Tycho the inscription at the end of her prophecy next to her name.
“Yep, that’s your birthmark alright.” Tycho shook his head in awe. “Wow! So your father is the King! Who’d’a thunk?” He sat back down and put the ice back over his eye.
“Wait a minute!” Kirna interrupted. “None of this makes any sense. How is Chalice going to help you find her father? What does the prophecy say?”
“You want to read it to them?” Ben asked Chalice.
Nodding, she acquiesced, reading it slowly and clearly. When she was finished, Ben said: “Nobody really understood the passage until Duquaine went missing and Chalice was born. Parts of it are still difficult to decipher because it is so cryptic. It leaves many questions. However, I am hoping the answers will come in time.”
“How is it possible that my father is King Duquaine? From what Jeremiah told me, the Queen died and her children were captured. So how is that even possible?”
“That is a good question. Not many of the Naeon know that Duquaine remarried shortly after the death of Queen Miria. The reason that not many of them know is because he married a Naeowoman who was working for the royal family in the palace. She was Queen Miria’s best friend and a second mother to her children.”
Chalice inhaled deeply, raising her eyes to the ceiling, then nodded in understanding. She knew why something like that would be kept silent. Jeremiah read her body language and frowned at Ben.
“I don’t follow,” he said.
“You understand, don’t you Chalice?” Ben asked.
She nodded, sighing. “It’s taboo, Jeremiah. The Terravail and the Naeon do not intermarry. They’re not allowed to.”
Jeremiah’s face froze. He looked as if someone had just punched him. His voice was quiet and thoughtful when he said: “Oh, I didn’t know that.”
He knows, she thought. Now he understands.
“Yes, well,” Ben continued. “The people weren’t happy when he married Alaenia and kept silent about it, but they still loved him. He was … he is the best king the Realm has ever had. The only fault or weakness he had was his trust in people, and in particular, his trust in someone he considered to be his best friend.”
“Dar’Maalda,” Chalice growled. Anger filled her as she logically pieced it together.
“Exactly. Ever since the Haeliad, the people of the Maaldanese islands have been at odds with the people of the Realm. They have always considered themselves separate, not taking part in any treaties or trade agreem
ents. It evolved this way due largely to the geography of Naeo’Gaea and the separation of the islands off the west coast from the Realm. Duquaine befriended Dar Maalda, the leader of the Maaldanese, in hopes of healing that break between the two societies. As you know, it didn’t work. It has been the only thing he ever failed at. The only bad decision he has ever made. Unfortunately, it was a critical mistake. Dar’Maalda betrayed him and seized power. Ever since the night of the coup, Duquaine has been missing.”
“And Alaenia? My mother, I assume.”
Ben nodded. “Yes. She was out of the palace with her guard that night, visiting the town folk. She did that frequently. She liked to get out of the palace to be among the people. A palace servant came running to inform her of what had happened. She had no choice but to flee the city. So, she traveled to Canton, her home village, where she had grown up. She lived with a good friend of hers, Marie Bierna.
Chalice turned to Jeremiah. “Do you remember Marie, Jeremiah? We used to go to her cafe.”
Jeremiah nodded. He was holding his head down, staring at the ground. He was thinking and his expression was sullen.
“Yes, she did have a cafe there, didn’t she?” Ben said. “Anyhow, Alaenia kept to herself, hidden, rarely going outside, in order to protect your grandparents and her friends in the village. Even though she wanted to return to Ielieria to find the children, she knew that Dar’Maalda would send men looking for her. At the time, she didn’t know she was with child … you. When she realized she was going to have a baby, she stayed with Marie until you were born. Dar’Maalda eventually did order a search, but his men didn’t find her in the village, so they moved on. After you were born, she had Marie contact me. When I arrived in Canton, she showed me your birthmark.”
“Is that how you know all of this? My mother told you?” She was still wondering about Ben. Who is he really? Why would my mother contact him?
“Yes, she told me everything she knew. I then left Canton to visit Nathaniel, who confirmed that the last child of the Delphaline had been born.”
“Why didn’t my mother stay with me in Canton?” She had always wondered why she was left with her grandparents, not that she ever regretted living with them, she loved her grandparents, but she had always been afraid that her parents hadn’t wanted her. For that reason, ironically, she also wanted to avoid the question. What if they didn’t want me? she thought. She knew he would eventually get to the subject and it was better that she brought it up first. Jeremiah looked up at Ben, listening intently.
“Well, I encouraged your mother to remain hidden with her baby because of the war raging at the time. Everyone did. The Realm was a turbulent and violent place. Many died. I assured her that we had people looking for the King and the children, but she insisted on leaving you with your grandparents and returning to Ielieria. With Sebastian and Naelli, she knew you would be safe from Dar’Maalda’s reach, especially since you were a secret. I think she believed that staying with you would put you in danger. She struggled with the decision. It is not easy for a mother to leave her child behind. After she left, she was never seen again.”
Jeremiah turned to look at Chalice with a soft expression and her throat tightened. She stared down at the floor. A torrent of mixed emotions stormed inside her. All her life she wanted to know about her parents and who she was, and now, she didn’t want to know. She wanted to return to the past, to her life in Canton when the four of them were kids, sitting on the banks of the Créonar, eating sandwiches in their swimsuits. Life was so simple back then. All the same, she was happy that she hadn’t been unwanted. It was quite the opposite. Her mother had left her to protect her. It seemed logical that since she had never known her mother, it shouldn’t matter to her. But it did. Logic knew nothing of human emotion. It could tell you nothing about your heart. She wished she could have known her mother. There was a lump in her throat and tears wanted to push through her cool outward composure, especially when Jeremiah put his arm around her. She fought the tears off furiously, with a rage against Dar’Maalda that was starting to build inside her. She would not let them come. Finally, in a gruff voice, she managed to choke out the question that she’d been waiting to ask.
“What kind of person was she?”
“She was the kindest, most selfless person I have ever known. She was always pleasant to be around and could find the best in every person she met, even in Dar’Maalda, and that’s hard to do,” he said pointedly over his pipe, raising one eyebrow. He reminded her a little of Papa. “Nobody disliked Alaenia. Everybody loved her.”
He paused to study the expression on Chalice’s face. “Do not feel badly, Chalice. She is probably still alive. It is more than likely, I would say. It is law for the Terravail, when they come of age, to swear an oath to the Ielierian. Part of that oath requires them to protect the royal family. This is how we know that your family has to be alive. If Dar’Maalda had killed any one them directly, he would be dead.”
“How do you know that?”
“It has to do with Terravailian power. It’s long and complicated. I will teach you more about it later.”
She nodded. Her torrent of anger was calming. “I have siblings then?”
“Yes, you have two living half sisters. The oldest is Miaela. The other is Shanira. They are a few years older than you. They were just children when you were born. You also have a half brother, or I should say you would have had a half brother, but he died before you were born. His name was Braywin. He was the oldest of the three. He had just come of age and was studying something very dangerous during his training. I don’t know what it was, and Alaenia didn’t know either, but it is what killed him. It was his death that set off the series of events that led to where we are now.”
Jeremiah removed his arm from Chalice’s shoulders and sat forward on the settee, staring at Ben. “What do you mean?”
“Miria was devastated by her son’s death. She wanted to know what killed him. To her detriment, she found out. Alaenia tried to stop her, but Miria was mad with grief. She had to know.” Ben paused and shook his head, looking down at his pipe and sighing deeply. “Duquaine was always a strong man, but the death of his only son and then of his wife just shortly afterward was more than he could bear. He renounced his daieoden and shelved it in a secret place. He didn’t want to have anything to do with it after that, or his ability. Then, he married Alaenia, a Naeon.”
“What is a daieoden?” Chalice asked curiously.
“A Terravailian’s daieoden is a crystal that he or she wears at all times. The daieoden are the stones through which the Terravail get their abilities. Without them, they cannot use their power.”
“Yes, that makes sense,” Jeremiah said. “Renouncing it would have left Duquaine extremely vulnerable. That’s how Dar’Maalda was able to seize control, wasn’t it?”
“Precisely.”
“And then he married Chalice’s mother. Is that the reason why those who had been loyal to the Ielierian sided with Dar’Maalda during the battle with Davinthore? Because they didn’t like the marriage between Duquaine and Alaenia?”
“Yes … and no. By renouncing his power and marrying Alaenia, Duquaine broke an unwritten rule. The people didn’t like it, but they were still loyal to him. They revered him. But when he disappeared and Dar’Maalda challenged the King’s younger brother in battle, Davinthore’s blunders caused many to lose faith in the Ielierian. I’m sure Dar’Maalda played into it as well, using propaganda against the royal family. The Strelzi, the King’s bowmen, were the only ones who kept the faith. They were close to Duque, as they called him, and never broke their fealty.”
“What do you think of Davinthore?” Jeremiah asked.
Sadness shadowed Ben’s face. “He was always weaker than Duquaine, both physically and mentally. But knowing him personally, I am puzzled, and for many reasons saddened at the outcome of the battle. His choice to go on living with the humiliation of defeat is even more puzzling. There is something not quite right abou
t it. His only flaw was that he wasn’t very strong-minded, but his heart and his loyalty to the Realm were always in the right place. The mistakes he made during the battle confused everyone. Like Theodore, he was an excellent battle leader and together, they could have easily defeated Dar’Draaqua and his men, regardless of their strength. It’s been years and I haven’t been able to contact him in Avielia.”
A thought struck Chalice. Theodore? She remembered what Jeremiah had told her. Theodore Darren. That’s right, he was the battle leader. And yet Ben was talking about Theodore Darren as if he knew him.
“Who is Dar’Draaqua?” she asked.
It was Jeremiah this time who answered. “Vlaadren Dar’Draaqua, the leader of the Draaquans. They call him Vlaad. We saw him, Chalice, the morning we left Branbury. You wanted to fight him, remember?”
“Oh yeah, I remember that.”
Ben’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s a good thing that you didn’t! Vlaad comes from the island of Draaqua, one of the larger Maaldanese islands, and he is Dar’Maalda’s right hand man. Nothing gets done without Vlaad knowing about it. The Draaquans follow Vlaad, which is why he is so important to Dar’Maalda. They are not just fighters like the Cantonese. They are a cult of killers, trained practically from birth.”
Kirna and Tycho, who had been silent this whole time, looked at each other with gaping eyes. They knew exactly who the Draaquans were.
“And you wanted to fight them, Chalice?!” Kirna asked incredulously.
Chalice shrugged. “I didn’t know who they were.”
Ben puffed his pipe. “Before Dar’Maalda seized power, no one in the Realm did either. It wasn’t until shortly after that, that they showed themselves. Around the same time, Canton became a fighting village. They were smart enough to know that the Realm was going to change drastically, so they began to train themselves and their young. Today, they are tough and skilled fighters, but they are no match for the Draaquans who possess Terravailian power. In the past, the Draaquans have killed many people. During the battle, they played a major role in the betrayal of the Ielierian.”
The Raie'Chaelia (Legend of the Raie'Chaelia, Book One 1) Page 16
