by L. R. Flint
“It is unfortunate that none of your men lived to learn not to meet my friends in battle again,” I stated.
“You may have won this battle, but you will not win the war,” he hissed.
“No?” I crouched before him. “Alone, perhaps I would not. But I am not alone. I have friends and allies. Zigor does nothing but make enemies and slaves—slaves have no love for a cruel master, and enemies, surely, will do him no good.” I let out a lighthearted laugh at that. I could see fierce loyalty to the harsh sovereign burning in his eyes and knew that before me was a man who actually followed Zigor willingly. What tricks could the tyrant have pulled to make the man so devoted to his evil? “It is a fool’s errand that you have been following the King on.”
“To fight against him is a fool’s errand,” he spat. “Your friend was a pathetic weakling—he was lucky to die rather than be taken as a prisoner. He would have been tortured nearly to death, then healed, and tortured again, and again, and again.” He whispered the words eagerly, savoring the cruelty in them.
I looked at the ground, clenching my jaw as I contained the fierce anger that coursed through me. “I am sorry you see things that way,” I said emotionlessly, as I stood. Do we need him for questioning?
No. We have already gathered what we can.
I blasted him with fire, but it was the propulsion, and not the flames, that killed him. “I am sorry that you were foolish enough to follow Zigor; blindly or not.”
“It is finished then,” Argider stated, then he and the centaurs departed through the crowd. Shortly after he left, the crowds began congregating in the direction he had gone. I followed the Commanders as they joined the others, both the soldiers from the two other havens, and the survivors of Jeul Derin. As we walked, I saw that the entire scene of the battle was littered with the frozen forms of various Guards, and though I was pleased with my handiwork, I wondered just what would happen to them. I fairly doubted that they could survive a solid freezing.
When we came to a stop near the back of the crowd, I had to jump into the air to see what was happening at the far end; Argider and his fellow centaurs stood at the head of the huge crowd. The General called out loudly, asking for the leader of Jeul Derin to step forward. The crowds parted as an ancient-looking elf walked toward the much younger centaur; the two conferred with one another for a while and then the General turned back to address the gathered crowd.
“There is no need for the soldiers from Baso Argi or Geirth Neilin to stay here any longer. As soon as we have rested and have eaten we will return to our homes. This, the leader of Jeul Derin, says that he and his people will be able to pack what they must and travel to Daris Orvilweiy where he believes his people will be welcome. Those of you who choose to stay here can only expect that more of Zigor’s Guards will come until they are certain this haven is annihilated. Soldiers, we move out now.” His final word came out as a stroke of thunder. I would hardly have been surprised if the ground had begun to shake, and what was left of Jeul Derin had crashed to the ground behind us, but it did not.
The people we had come to the rescue of filed into lines, to get out of the way of the soldiers who had all just been commanded to leave. I fell in line behind the ogre Commander, taking up the back of the line, as we all headed in the direction that Argider led. Silence fell behind me, and halfway to the place where Argider had been, I turned to see if something was wrong. The people behind us had all knelt to the ground; I reached behind me and tapped the ogre’s shoulder, not knowing what was going on. The ogre though, did not prove to be very helpful, because as he caught sight of the peoples’ actions he followed suit, falling on one knee next to me, with his head lowered. I turned fully around and saw the soldiers kneeling as well; those closer to me were first and then the action was continued further back, washing away from me like a ripple on a pond.
I turned back toward the remains of Jeul Derin, overwhelmed by the act of the people around me. How could they put their hopes in me so easily? I had just been instrumental in destroying half of their city and I certainly had not proven myself to them; in fact, I would never truly do so until Zigor was gone and once that happened they would no longer have need of me. Someone behind me shouted out two words that I had only heard used together once before, and which I would be hearing all too often in the future. The words were shouted as a cheer of victory, but to me they seemed more akin to a burden being fixed squarely on my shoulders.
Everyone followed the lone person in cheering the words, “Lord Izotz,” and soon it was followed by fists being pumped into the air, the movement pulsing with the cheer. I was glad to see them rising from their knees, but the gaze of each being remained trained on me. The Commander I had been following grabbed my arm and we quickly made our way through the cheering crowd. We made our way to Argider’s side and, with an amused smile, he said that I looked as if I had had enough excitement for one day.
31 COUNCIL’S MEETING
Izar and Alaia returned from scouting soon after I returned from Jeul Derin’s ruins. The only drawback to their return was that the subject of Ekaitz’ absence was brought up. I had let go of most of my anger over his death while I was killing Guards in Jeul Derin, but after it was gone I just missed him more than anything I had ever lost before; the pain seemed to leave an aching hole in my chest. The anger being mostly gone, though, did not mean I had given up on revenge; Zigor still had much to atone for.
During the next few days, I spent the majority of my time swimming, except for those times when someone requested a duel with me. One day while swimming, the subject came up of how fish were able to stay under water their entire lives without coming up for air. Izar, who was in the lake with me at the time, explained that they had gills, and their lungs were somehow different from ours. That gave me an idea and soon I was experimenting with the use of gills on myself, with Lietha’s help of course.
I caught a fish and studied it with magic, before trying anything on myself. After only a few failed attempts at creating the right lungs and gills—sufficient for elven use, and only nearly drowning once—I succeeded in my efforts, and was able to remain underwater until I had completely lost track of the time. Eventually I surfaced and by the time I realized that I had not returned my lungs to their natural form, I was a bit disoriented from the lack of oxygen. Mattin, Izar, Eskarne, and Arrats had also come to the lake, but when I surfaced I could see only the boy elf, who had just surfaced and was treading water while he got his needed air.
I swam over to Mattin and asked where everyone else was. “Where have you been?” he asked in return.
“Just swimming.”
“But you never surfaced, how did you do that?” He then forgot that question and offered another. “You do know that you have missed lunch and supper, and that dusk is already setting in?” I looked around me, not actually having noticed that it was getting dark out. I had been used to the murkiness of the deep water, so when there was no change between it and the sky I had not noticed what should have immediately been realized. At the mention of food I also realized that I was starving.
“Where is everyone?” I asked again.
“Izar and I just started diving for you and the other two left hours ago—not much fun freezing on the shore while we swim.”
I voiced my acknowledgment and the two of us stayed there, treading water for about a minute before Izar’s head broke the surface of the water. I called out to my sister and the three of us swam toward the shore where she gave me a mild scolding for not letting them know beforehand that I would be absent for the entire day.
While we walked back the haven, Mattin mentioned that if I were ever to live a life on the sea I would never have to worry about drowning. That was the first time I ever really considered such a thing and it started me thinking of the possibility of going to sea after I defeated Zigor. By the time I got home I had decided to return to the seas as soon as Caernadvall had been taken care of; there were so many places beyond the vast seas, so
many unknown things within the seas themselves, and I was determined to learn every secret the world held.
It came as no surprise that I fell asleep with thoughts of the vast oceans in mind, and soon my head was swamped with dreams of the seas, each washing over me like a wave of new ideas. The missed scents of the ocean peppered my dreams with soothing or invigorating aromas, and the strong presence of magic hung on the edges of my wandering imagination while I slept.
~ ~ ~
Over the next month strange rumors began to appear in Baso Argi from other havens, many of them hinting that a strange creature had appeared at Zigor’s side. Many deemed it a hellhound—some devilish creature dug up from the Abyss. A few of our havens closer to the South of Caernadvall had been ravaged and terrorized by the evil presence of the henchman. Whatever species it was of, the thing was causing a great amount of destruction, and it was causing the people to prematurely lose that hope for peace which they had so recently stumbled upon.
As usual, the Council had many meetings, and an extensive number of them were secret ones that had a great deal to do with me, or more particularly, what they thought I should do. It came as no surprise when, during one of the many duels I now had against Erramun—with Argiñe’s special battle staves, which the dragonman had become so fond of—that he informed me of a meeting the Council had just had in regards to me. Unfortunately, I could get him to say no more than that they expected my arrival immediately after the duel we were having.
I tried to draw out the duel as long as I could, in an attempt to prolong my meeting with the Council. I felt it was not too bad a price for them to pay for sitting around all the time, rehearsing my fate, as it were. I could tell when the dragonman realized my intentions, but he made no move to end the duel, not seeming to mind. We kept at each other’s throats until we both were tired, and decided on a truce while we rested for a little while. We were about to start on a second round when a cloud of faeries, faetaurs, and pixiedwarves swarmed overhead.
The creatures were screaming at me, and because of the cacophony of voices and jumbled words I could not make the least bit of sense out of what they were saying. In their frustration the swarm of miniature creatures attempted to lift me off the ground and carry me away, at which Erramun began laughing. He then proceeded to joke that I had gotten fat while I sat in Baso Argi, for they were unable to lift me. His words enraged the little faeries so badly that they began to attack him with their undersized weapons. I sent the whole swarm flying away on a blast of cold air, though one managed to catch hold of my shirt, so I granted him a chance to relay the message before I sent him soaring after his companions.
“The Council, they are waiting for you. They need to talk to you, I think they are worried about you…” the faerie gibbered on, and on, in his panicked voice and I easily lost interest. When I caught sight of the horde of faeries appearing again, in the distance, I decided that it was time to leave. The faeries became excited when they realized that I was finally headed in the direction of the Council, though they were not naive enough to ditch and fly ahead to announce my approach.
With my swarm of insufferable sentries zipping about my head, I walked into the Circle of the Council; the faeries all flew toward Basajaun who thanked, and then promptly shooed them off, with a little amount of difficulty. I saw the question in the elf Lord’s eyes over what had kept me so long, especially with another member of the Council, but he kept his wondering to himself. Another of the Council members was not so withholding, however.
“What was so important that you could keep us waiting?” Itxaro, the giantess, asked of me, an impertinent tone to her booming voice. At the same moment Erramun and I replied to her that we had been dueling. The way we mimicked each other’s replies reminded me of Ekaitz, and my heart ached.
The giantess was not happy with the replies, but at the moment she was about to reprimand us, Basajaun brought the meeting to order and she held off, since it was not in her best interest to interrupt him. “We are gathered here Izotz, to speak to you concerning the near future and the impending doom which Zigor would bring, and more particularly, that of his henchman—this rumored hellhound summoned from the deep vaults of the Abyss itself.” He paused, choosing how best to present the reason for requesting my presence. “We have an option to present before you; a choice for you to make which may well determine the future of those who long for freedom, those who—with your help in gaining the upper hand—would gladly give their lives to free the world of Zigor’s tyranny.”
Because of the amount of time it took for Basajaun to get to his point, I began to dread what it was that he would actually propose. “Basajaun, will you please just tell me what it is you want me to do?”
After a moment of hesitation, he finally did. “We would ask that you journey to a Lietha Well.”
“I do not know what a Lietha Well is.”
“They are places where our world connects directly with Lietha. No one has ever returned from a Lietha Well, but with your unique connection, it is possible that you may.”
“No has ever returned? No one? Ever? How great of an advantage could I possibly gain that would outweigh the risk of never returning?” The darkly humorous thought that they had found someone to replace me crossed my mind; it would be a relief, but I was beginning to believe that I was a one-of-a-kind, as Basajaun had said, with my special connection to Lietha. “Where is this Lietha Well, exactly?”
After a pause of silence Basajaun said, “There are a few Wells in existence; one in Caernadvall where we dare not risk letting you return, one is rumored to be in the Eguzki desert, there is another the location of which I cannot tell you, and there is one located in the Andoni Fields. That last one is that to which you would be traveling, seeing as it is the most convenient, as situations currently are.”
I nodded. “I have never heard of the Andoni Fields before.”
“They are located far to the North, you will have to travel through frozen mountains and similar wastelands. Though they are not large, the mountains will be dangerous, but they have been deemed by the majority of the Council to be a more sensible route than leading you straight to the den of the lion whom we are attempting to give you an upper hand against.” The elf sounded uneasy about the mountains, so I guessed he—at least—had been partial to me going elsewhere.
“Who is going with me?”
“A good question. As of yet, the only suspects are your sister, and your friends Eskarne and Arrats.” I had been expecting a list of names so long that I would have forgotten the first by the time he had made it to the last, so I was surprised by the shortness of it. “If you would like, you can name anyone else that you would like to accompany you, and we will see if they are possible and willing candidates.”
I nodded, grateful for that at least. “Has Izar ever traveled to the Andoni Fields before?” The elf informed me that she had not. “Would it be possible for Mattin, Koldobika, and Sendoa to come with me? If none of them have ever traveled to our destination, then I will need a trusted guide.” After silence had stretched for an excessively long amount of time, I added, “Also, Alaia and Bakar, the warrior from the Eguzki desert.” I looked around the Circle, watching the thoughtful faces of those gathered. I turned back to Basajaun. “Would it be possible for a member of the Council to come?”
The elf looked around and I heard one voice call out that they would like to come, then another followed that I most definitely had not expected—it was that of Gurutze, the dwarf lady.
“How wise would it really be to send away a member of the Council in such dire times?” the giantess asked, her rough voice grated through the air in obvious displeasure.
“How wise is it to send me away in such dire times?” I grumbled the words under my breath so that they could not be heard well enough for an argued reply.
“Actually, it might be wise since we would have direct contact with a member of the traveling party,” Alazne said, her old, kind voice soft compared to
that of Itxaro, though her voice carried itself through the clearing with greater force. Many of the Circle nodded in agreement with the old woman, knowing that her words were true.
“Yes.” The single word came from Basajaun. “I believe we should send Erramun, but if it pleases you Gurutze, and Izotz, then we will send a dwarf as well.”
Gurutze agreed and I thought about it for a moment, but before agreeing I asked, “What of the other names I presented to you?” Gurutze smiled wickedly, and I wondered at the thoughts that were passing through her mind just then. The elf Lord took his time before answering.
“Mattin, I believe, would be willing to journey with you; the four guards who traveled with you to the desert have requested that they be allowed to guard you once again; Koldobika will be unable to accompany you, though he originally planned to. We will make inquiries for you concerning the names you have suggested.”
I nodded, already sure that those named would be willing, and able, to journey with me. “Alright then, seeing as one of that number will not be there, I agree to the company of a dwarf.” I was tempted to add that I wanted him, or her, to be able to run fast enough to keep up, but deigned not too, knowing it would be considered quite rude. Gurutze nodded, satisfied with my agreement, though it seemed as if she had sensed the remark I held back.
“Then it is decided. If those you have requested agree, then you will have twelve companions on your journey to the Andoni Fields, wherein lays the Lietha Well which you seek.”
32 TRAVELS AND FEASTING
“Are you sure it is really such a good idea for Arrats and me to go, since we will probably freeze to death in this frozen wasteland you speak of?” Eskarne asked. I just rolled my eyes and otherwise ignored the question. She had not stopped asking it since a large mound of winter clothes had shown up, just for her, hauled by a couple of elves whose lives’ work was pretty much making the most durable clothes possible for traveling into uninhabitably cold regions, though they were few.
