by Pedro Urvi
The Lords were creating elemental storms, which battered walls and battlements with the aim of smoothing the way for the Warriors. With outbursts of fire and earth, the Warriors propelled themselves to the battlements. While they were in the air they sent elemental missiles against the defenders, who in their turn attacked them, trying to prevent them setting foot on the walls. Thousands of warriors in red and brown launched themselves into the sky and fell onto the battlements like a plague of colossal locusts. The Warriors and Lords of Ether defended themselves by creating ghosts of pain and death, accompanying them with lethal mists.
But the enemy possessed a secret weapon, quite apart from their clear superiority in numbers.
Asu showed his followers the Claw he carried on his right arm. “Use these!” “Unleash all your Power on the enemy, without fear! The Claws will replenish your essence of life! You are immortal now! You will not age a single day! By my grace! Charge without mercy!”
And little by little, the defenders fell beneath the enemy’s superiority until the call to retreat sounded. The assaulting forces at last took the walls, where they strengthened their position and took their toll of the defenders in their retreat back to the royal castle: the last defense.
“The walls are ours,” Iradu said to Asu. “Do we attack the palace?”
Asu exchanged a glance with his cousin Erre, who in turn looked at Iradu, who nodded. “Everything is ready, my lord.”
“In that case we wait.”
Adamis was about to leave; he wanted to fight with his own people and defend the royal palace. But this puzzled him. What did Asu mean? What was he waiting for?
Lurra and his Champion strode towards the command post. Behind them came the guard of honor of Earth.
“We have a serious problem,” Lurra announced.
Asu turned to him, looking puzzled.
“My spies have informed me that the House of Hila, the House of the Dead, is attacking the rings we have left unprotected. They have taken advantage of the fact that we are fighting here to stab us in the back.”
“The banished House?” Asu cried. “How dare they? This is an outrage!”
“We have to retreat and defend our Houses,” said Lurra. “While we are fighting here to conquer the First Ring, our homes are left defenseless.”
“That is not a good strategy,” Asu said.
Lurra shook his head. “I know you want victory here. So do I, but I cannot allow those ghouls to attack my home without defending it.”
“One must make many sacrifices in war,” Asu said.
“I cannot do what you are asking of me. My House is my first duty.”
“I guessed you might say that.”
“I am leaving with my troops.”
“That will not be necessary,” Asu said, and gave a crooked smile.
“What do you mean by that?”
Asu pointed behind Lurra.
At the head of a hundred sinister Lords came Beltz, King of the exiled House of Hila. With him was his nephew Lord Woz. They were macabre enough to be unmistakable. They were dressed in black from head to foot, with the exception of a silver sash where they carried two long curved daggers. On their golden foreheads, on their shaven heads and under their eyes the strange symbols of their death-rituals were tattooed in black. But what made them truly unmistakable was their eyes: black, with golden irises and white pupils.
Lurra stared blankly at the newcomers. “What is this?” he stammered. “What are they doing here?”
Asu took out a fiery dagger and without a word, buried it up to the hilt in the back of his neck.
“This, my dear Friend,” said Asu, “means there will only be one High King: myself.”
Lurra, his eyes staring from their sockets, turned and groped for the dagger that had killed him. He met Asu’s eyes, filled with greed.
“Traitor…I should have known…”
“Yes, but you were not clever enough. Or did you really believe I was going to share Alantres with you?”
The King of Earth collapsed with a look of horror on his face.
“Fool,” Asu spat out with utter scorn. “Kill all the Warriors and Lords of the House of Earth. We have no further need of them.”
Iradu, Erre and Asu’s Guard of Honor had already attacked the dead king’s escort. The fight was brief and brutal.
“It is lucky that I have no ambitions,” Beltz said with a broad smile.
“Ambitions are very dangerous,” Asu replied, and his eyes flashed.
“Alantres and being High King myself do not interest me in the least. They are all yours.”
“I am pleased to hear that,” Asu said. His smile was threatening. “Otherwise you would end up like all the others.
Beltz nodded. “But I do require my compensation for helping you.”
“And so you will. All the dead will be yours, now and in the future.”
Beltz smiled. “I am sure there will be plenty. My House will be delighted.”
“There will indeed be. This is a beneficial alliance for both of us. I will rule, and you will have countless corpses for your sacrilegious rituals.”
“A perfect alliance,” Beltz said. His smile was wide, his eyes dark and profound as death itself.
“Just remember to keep your hands off Alantres.”
“The living do not interest my House. We leave them to you. When we have finished here, we will go back to our island. To our exile.”
“Very well. Otherwise…” Asu nodded towards Lurra’s body.
Beltz smiled and spread his arms wide in agreement.
“Now let us take the fortress, and destroy the other rings. Everybody shall know who the sole High King is. Everybody shall kneel and beg for their lives before me!”
Adamis had already witnessed enough. He had learned of Asu’s master-move. With a feeling of overwhelming anxiety clutching at his chest, he went to a secret entrance at the harbor-side. He did so as quickly and discreetly as his battered body would allow him, making sure nobody saw him. The secret entrance would lead him down a long passage which led to the cellars of the royal palace. The royal family had built several such secret passages so as to evacuate the Royal Palace in case of need. He intended to use one of them to reach his father.
When he reached the palace cellars, he took off his helmet so that his face would be seen and he would be recognized as who he was: the Prince of Ether. What he found when he arrived filled his heart with sorrow. They had piled the dead in the cellars; there were thousands of them. He recognized Lords and members of his own family. Two warriors of the Guard challenged him. He revealed himself, and they bowed when they realized who he was.
They offered him a suit of armor in the colors of the House of Ether so that he would not be mistaken for an assailant. He donned his House colors proudly and went in search of his father.
As he went up the white marble stairs he could hear the screams and elemental explosions of the desperate fighting close at hand. He found his father in the throne hall, surrounded by his loyal defenders.
Teslo, the Champion of the House of Ether, challenged him. “Who goes there?” he cried.
“Do you not recognize me, Teslo?”
The Champion shook his head. “But… it is impossible… I killed you…”
“Yes, but the sentence has not yet been fully carried out.”
Teslo sank to one knee and bowed his head in respect. “My lord… I…”
“I know, Teslo, you did your duty. You have nothing to reproach yourself for.”
“Thank you, your Highness. I will take you to your Father.”
Laino, High King of Ether, was giving orders to his Lords and did not notice their arrival.
Adamis felt a lump in his throat. Contradictory feelings of love and hate were struggling in his heart. “Father…” he said.
Laino’s face changed from the most intense concern to confusion and denial, but after the first moment, it lit up with the greatest joy.
“Adamis! You are alive!”
Adamis was struggling between the joy he felt at seeing his father and the pain of his rejection and death sentence. “Yes, Father.”
“I cannot believe it,” Laino said, wide-eyed. “It is a dream,”
“No Father, I am here and I am still alive. I have come to help.”
“After what I did? You have still come?”
“Yes Father. This is my family, my home. If you need me I will always come.”
Tears welled up in Laino’s eyes. “But I ordered you to be killed.”
“You are my father… I will always love you…” The words came out without thinking and as he heard them come out of his own mouth he realized it was true, and so it would always be.
“How could I have been such a fool?”
“You did what was best for your House. It was I who betrayed you by helping the slaves.”
“I was wrong, I knew the moment I gave the order. Will you be able to forgive me some day?”
“I already have, Father. I do not hold it against you.” And to his surprise, it was true: the pain was receding from his heart and there only remained love for the one who had given him life.
“My son, I am so sorry. This meaningless war, this horror, was what I wanted to avoid. That is why I did it, that is why I condemned you ‒ and for what? For nothing. This horror has come to pass regardless of how hard I might have tried to prevent it. How stupid I feel. How wrongly I have behaved before the arrogance of the Golden, the slavery of men. Before you.”
“That is the past. It is forgotten. Let us look toward the future.”
“Thank you, my son. You have no idea what having you back here means after what I did to you.”
“Asu has been very shrewd, and has struck a blow which nobody could have anticipated. Your actions have been fair. You condemned me in order to avoid a war.”
“I ordered that punishment for you in the hope of a miracle… Notaplo told me there was a chance, and that is why I chose the dagger Slayer of Kings. Because of that chance. And it happened.”
“Yes, old Notaplo was right again. The Children of Arutan saved me.”
“That sect of traitors? Impossible. We thought they were extinct.”
“Yes, you owe my life to them. And much more, for they have been watching over the good of the Golden from the shadows.”
“In that case, and because it comes from you, I will thank them if the moment comes.”
“You should. And thank you for giving me a chance with the Dagger…”
He took Adamis’s face in his hands. “I could not kill my own son in cold blood, I simply could not…”
Farther and son gazed into one another’s eyes, Laino wept, and those tears washed away all the pain Adamis had been carrying with him. They embraced. Everybody in the hall was staring at them.
Laino turned to them.” This is Adamis, my son, heir to the throne, and here today with you, my most loyal people, as witnesses, I reinstate him as my successor and heir.
“Hail Adamis!”
“Hail, Prince of the House of Ether!” cried Teslo.
“Hail!” they all echoed.
The explosions and shouting outside intensified. One of the Lords arrived at a run.
“They have launched the final offensive!”
“Defend the House!” Laino ordered his people.
“What can I do?” Adamis asked.
“I have no Power left. I have consumed it all.”
“And the High King of the House of Water?”
“He died defending the walls. They have taken him to his temple on the mainland to give him an honorable burial.”
“I am sorry for your loss… I know you were good friends.”
“A whole life as allies. He fought with honor and courage to save his people. He deserves our respect and the final rest of a High King.”
Adamis nodded, and Laino looked at him with concern. “You must save your mother and the others.”
“Where is Mother?”
“In the chamber of the Royal Portal. She is organizing the evacuation in case we are unable to resist.”
“Will we be able to?”
Laino sighed deeply. “I believe not. They are too strong.”
“Then we will fight to the end. I will be by your side.”
Laino, his eyes moist and with a lump in his throat, could barely manage to say: “Thank you, my son.”
A series of fiery eruptions, very close at hand, shook the walls of the chamber. Part of the ceiling collapsed.
“They are at the gates!” came the warning.
Laino grasped Adamis by the shoulders.
“Go and see your mother, make sure we have an escape route.”
“I will go at once.”
“Thank you, my son.”
Adamis went along the corridors of the palace amid the noise of explosions. His father’s Warriors took cover behind columns and improvised barricades to resist the final attack. When he reached the chamber in the Portal, he found it crowded with Golden from the two allied Houses. These were the refugees from the House of Water, together with those Golden of the House of Ether who were not equipped for fighting. But he found something else which made him stop in fear: in several adjoining chambers were hundreds of Golden from the House of Air, and even of the House of Earth. They were being guarded by Warriors of the House of Ether. What are they doing here? How did they get here?
He found his mother in front of the great portal, speaking to a group of Erudites.
“Mother…” he said, hardly able to swallow.
She turned round and stared at him. When she first recognized him it was as though she was confronting an apparition.
“Adamis! My son!” she cried, and ran to hug him.
“Mother, this is such a glad moment!”
“You are alive!” She touched her son’s face and arms to make sure he was not just a spirit. “You are alive!” she repeated, and her eyes filled with tears.
“I am fine, Mother. I am alive.”
“I begged him not to do it, I begged him to forgive you, but he would not listen.”
“He did what he had to do for the good of the House.”
“I will never forgive him. Never. I left his side the moment he condemned you, and I will never go back to him.”
“Mother… he has reinstated me.”
“That gladdens my soul, but it does not change what he did. I am here for all these people who are suffering and will die if I do not help them, but not for him.”
“He gave me a chance… the dagger…”
“Of not dying? Just one? No, I will never forgive him.”
Adamis embraced her, and she covered him with kisses and tenderness
“My dearest son is back with me,” she said amid tears of joy.
Adamis indicated the Golden from the rival Houses.
“Mother… what are they doing here?”
“They have been arriving recently. They have been betrayed by the House of Fire, and their Rings are being attacked by the House of Hila. They asked me for shelter, and I have granted it to them. I do not even want to think of the unnatural things the House of Hila would do to them. I could not refuse them. It would have meant condemning them to an end worse than death. They came through their own Royal Portals. But a moment ago they stopped coming. We do not know why.”
Adamis turned to the Portal and noticed that it was indeed turned off.
“What is the matter with it?”
“The Erudites do not know. But it seems it is not only our own. As the refugees have stopped arriving, we suspect their own Portals have also stopped working.”
“That is strange. Very strange.”
“The city portals use the Power of the Great Monolith. They say that something is preventing it from working.”
“The enemy?”
“As far as we know, they have not reached the monolith. Your father destroyed the four passes.”
“I will go
and find out what is going on.”
“No, stay here with me. I have only just got you back. You cannot leave yet.”
Adamis gestured around him. The faces of the refugees reflected their fear. “We must take them to safety or else they will die.”
“Very well,” she said resignedly. “But be very careful.”
“I will be, Mother, do not worry.”
The Queen kissed his cheek, and he left.
A growing unease in his stomach warned him of what he was going to find.
Chapter 36
Adamis arrived at the inner dock of the First Ring and went to one of the moored ships. There were no signs of fighting, which left him feeling easier. It did not look as if the enemy troops had reached the inner ring. And if that were so, then why had the Great Monolith stopped working? With these thoughts in mind he went on board and set off toward the central island.
He moored the ship and left it as quickly as he could. He was in the very center of the Eternal City, at the foot of the gigantic monolith which fed Power to Alantres. He checked the base of the artifact and felt a chill, followed by an intense stab of pain in his back. Inside was the High Chamber, where the Five High Kings met and decided upon the lives of Golden and Men.
He looked closely at the entrance to the sacred temple and stiffened when he saw his father’s guards in front of the door. They were dead. At once he raised his protective sphere and readied himself. Something was going wrong, very wrong. He thought immediately of Asu. How could he have got there? If he was in control of the great monolith, they were lost.
With the greatest care he opened the doors and entered the great chamber, as fast as his body would allow him to. No-one saw him. When he looked around, what he saw stunned him. It was not Asu who was controlling the monolith, as he had feared: it was the Children of Arutan! Trying to understand what was happening, he found himself unable to move.
He recognized Aruma, surrounded by a hundred of her acolytes. They were in two circles, with the old woman at the center. Making up the first ring, the larger of the two, were the majority of her acolytes, most of them young. In the second there were only a dozen Golden, and by their appearance and their considerable age he guessed they must be the Ancients, the leaders. They were carrying out some kind of ancestral ritual. All of them had their arms raised toward the base of the black monolith, and their eyes were closed in a mystical trance. Beside Aruma in the center had been placed a great transparent container in the shape of a pod. Inside it was a brownish-green liquid.
