Battlefield of the Sacred Land

by Mark E. Tyson

  “Speak,” the king of Adracoria said.

  “The floor recognizes King Xephram of Adracoria,” Bomar said.

  The king dressed in elegant, deep, blood-red robes of the Adracorian rose stood. “It was folly that wielders were ever banned, seeing what is brewing in Symboria, and I was wondering. Are there any wielders left who may fight for us?”

  Morgoran stepped into the circle. “Respectfully, let us dispense with the formalities and speak plainly, agreed?” The kings all nodded. “There are many wielders still out there, but they are in hiding. Many more are adolescents and are untrained and unable to be of much use. They must be identified and sent to Rugania. Also, the former prisons of the Enforcers that housed wielders should be emptied and each prisoner evaluated. Ianthill and I can see to that. What we need from each of you are soldiers to form an army to march to the Sacred Land to face the armies of Scarovia and Abaddonia as well as the Drasmyd Duil and Dramyds of Kambor. I sent Sylvalora, matron of dragons, to Draegodor early this morning to see if she can enlist the help of the dragons and their knights. I also told her to try to find a way to rescue the lost army of the West, if possible.” He paused to look at each king in turn. “I shouldn’t have to tell you what a threat Kambor, the Oracle, is this time. He has purposefully waited until the Sacred Land has regenerated to reawaken so he may utilize the immense power locked within it. This war will make the first War of the Oracle look like a jousting tournament.”

  “Then why have you waited so long to bring us to meeting?” King Hanlin asked.

  “Intelligence! Your Grace, we simply had no way of knowing Kambor was still alive. It was believed up until recently that he was killed in the first war. We were worried about another who turned out to be of no consequence.”

  “You speak of Naneden the Mad?” King Hanlin asked.

  “Aye, I am. But you may rest assured that he is gone. I was there in person at his demise. He is quite dead,” Morgoran assured them.

  “Who will lead this army?” King Xephram asked.

  “The prince of Ardenia, Dorenn Adair,” Morgoran said, pointing to him.

  Rennon leaned to him. “You are?”

  “It’s news to me,” Dorenn replied. “This is the first I’m hearing of it, but I suspected.”

  “With the help of Princess Seandara of Endil and her archers, of course,” Morgoran added.

  Both kings eyed him, but it was King Hanlin who first spoke. “Sythia has been receiving reports from our people of Dorenn Adair and his exploits. I have no objections. I will pledge my men.”

  “If the king of Sythia is so keen to agree, so will the king of Adracoria. I will pledge my men,” King Xephram said.

  “Then the Trigothian kingdoms stand united,” King Lourn said. “For I too pledge my men. May the Trigothian army prevail!”

  Dorenn leaned to Rennon again. “I want you and Theosus to get together a contingent of mindwielders, about fifty or so, and go to the Sacred Land ahead of the army. Scout it out first and then see if you can get close enough after the army arrives to cut Kambor off from drawing essence. I know he will still be able to use dragon magic, but cutting off the flow of essence may just give us the advantage we need.”

  “I think we can do that,” Rennon said.

  “Quietly gather up the men, and I will tell you when I want you to go. I don’t want you too far ahead of the army.”

  Chapter 19: Forgotten Secrets

  Trendan finally felt the pain and discomfort subside. He watched as the final embers of the funeral pyre burned themselves out, and he felt a tear roll down his cheek; he quickly wiped it away. He looked away from the burned out pyre at the light of dawn just peeking over the horizon. A new day without Sanmir in it, he thought. He wiped another tear from his eye before it could fall, and glanced back up. It was at that moment, when the light and dark converged, that his sharp vision caught something moving in the distance, up on a hill above the wall line. He nudged Shexah. “Great Pryus, do you see that? A figure approaches over the hill.”

  Shexah squinted. “I do. It appears small, as if a child. Come, we will go to the gates.”

  Andramir took a step forward. “But Great Pryus, I have not given the final funeral rights. They must be given when the pyre is completely burned down to ashes.”

  “It appears the time is right. Carry on,” he replied. “We shall return in a moment.”

  The priest nodded. “I will give the embers one more moment to completely burn out,” he was saying to one of the clerics as Trendan followed the Great Pryus out of earshot.

  At the gates to the camp, a young elvish girl of about fourteen seasons stumbled forth. A guard helped her through the gates just as Trendan and Shexah arrived.

  She gave Trendan a strange look and then smiled. She turned to the Great Pryus. “I am very hungry.”

  “Get her into the camp and find the cook. See if he has some food he can bring right away, and some water as well,” Shexah said. He brushed the girl’s hair out of her eyes. “Who are you, little one? Where have you come from?”

  “I was lost in the desert and I saw your fire,” she stated.

  “Lucky you did,” Trendan said. “The desert at night is more dangerous than you probably realize.”

  “If you are speaking of the unlife, they do not bother me. They pass me by without harm.”

  One of the soldiers returned with some bread, water, and cheese. He tried to hand the bundle to Shexah.

  “Give it to the girl, not me,” Shexah scolded. The soldier complied.

  “Thank you,” the girl said to the soldier. “Loracia bless you.”

  “Loracia?” Trendan asked. “Are you studying to be a cleric?”

  The girl giggled in between bites of cheese and bread. “Goodness no. Why would I do that? I am Loracia.”

  “What?” Trendan asked. “Who did you say you were?”

  “Loracia. I am the goddess of life.” She took another bite of cheese and washed it down with a gulp of water.

  Trendan leaned back to whisper to Shexah. “The poor thing is suffering from heat exhaustion. She must have been wandering through the desert during the heat of the day.”

  “Your two companions, they are both clerics, correct?” Shexah whispered back.

  “Vesperin is devout. Fayne is a cleric of Loracia as well, but her sect is slightly different.”

  “Inconsequential. Both are clerics of Loracia, are they not?”

  “Aye, they are,” Trendan said.

  The little girl looked up from her makeshift meal. “And both are excellent at what they do. I’m proud of them both. They are why I’m here.”

  “There is nothing wrong with her hearing, apparently,” Shexah said, no longer whispering.

  The girl finished her meal and handed the empty water cup back to the soldier who gave it to her. “Thank you, Hylaniel.”

  Hylaniel took the cup. “You are most welcome, miss.” He gave Trendan and Shexah a distressed look and shook his head, meaning he never told her his name.

  “All right,” the girl said, “I am ready to see Vesperin and Fayne now.”

  Shexah sniffed. “Well, I suppose a girl of thirteen or fourteen poses no real threat. What do you think, Trendan?”

  Trendan gazed around at the multitude of armed men in the camp and then shrugged. “To Vesperin and Fayne it is.”

  The girl seemed to be fully recovered as Trendan and Shexah escorted her to the funeral pyre. Vesperin and Fayne stood beside the high priest near the pyre while Tatrice and Bren sat on a nearby wooden bench. She immediately went to Vesperin and tugged on his white robe. Fayne saw her and greeted her pleasant face with a smile.

  Vesperin turned to see who had his robe. “Hello there. May I help you, little girl?”

  “I haven’t much time, Vesperin my child. I have to return to Mount Venifyre before I am discovered. Possession of this little girl is not doing her any good either.” Her grip on Vesperin’s robe was firm. “Vex has expressly forbidden any
of us to interact in person like this, but I had to come to you under the circumstances. Aedreagnon has been imprisoned by Vex and can no longer influence you. Quick, give me the staves he gave to you.”

  Without a word, Vesperin and Fayne produced something from their pockets and handed them to the girl. She took whatever she was given, clasped them in her hand, and then handed them back to Vesperin and Fayne. “Hold them outward so they do not hurt anyone,” she said.

  Vesperin held out his hand, and the thing he held grew into a golden staff. “Now you, Fayne,” she said. Fayne did the same and also held a golden staff after holding out her hand. The girl turned to Trendan and Shexah. “The Siladil and Noradil used to be allies of Symboria and Ardenia. Even though the treaty is a forgotten secret now, it once was so, and it is still important. In the heart of Shezuris, under the hall of the Great Pryus, is a portal fashioned by the priests of the Siladil long ago. It is called the Triangle because it connects in a triangular path from Shezuris to Symbor to Asperden in that order. The portal is ancient and sometimes unreliable. Remember, the Symborian leg of the portal is Old Symbor in the Sacred Land, not the current Symbor. With Shezuris cleared of unlife now, you should have no trouble getting to it.” She cupped Vesperin’s face with her hand. “If you do run into unlife, these staves I have given you will clear your path. Farewell, my son.” She gave Fayne a hard stare before turning toward the funeral pyre. “I must go now.”

  “Wait,” Fayne said. “Mistress, I . . .”

  “I already know, Fayne. You have to do what you know is right.”

  “But what does that mean? Am I released? May I choose for myself?”

  Vesperin put his hand on the little girl’s shoulder and pulled it back as it hissed. “Your skin is red hot,” he said.

  “I am only here for a moment. The food given freely of will allowed me to stay for a few minutes only. Acts of kindness gives me more time here. I took the guise of a young girl because I knew no one would feel threatened.”

  “Will Fawlsbane Vex be furious with you if he finds out?” Vesperin asked with concern.

  She smiled. “Oh, certainly not. If he finds out, I will remind him of the multitude of times I am aware of him breaking his own directive and appearing in this world to help out his own disciples. I decided, because you and Fayne were tricked by the deceiver, that I would come and absolve you.” She turned and ran into the funeral pyre. It flared up again and burned out, leaving only ashes.

  “Why did she not bring back Sanmir?” Trendan asked on impulse. “And what of the little girl?”

  Vesperin’s blond hair had transformed into an almost white color now. Trendan noticed it as soon as the cleric turned to answer him. “Because she doesn’t do that. She gives life but rarely restores it.”

  “The little girl will wake up at home without any knowledge of what happened,” Fayne said. “Loracia never takes life.”

  Trendan gave Vesperin a hard look. “Your hair is almost white now. She touched you again like she did back at the Vale of Morgoran, back when we all thought you had died.”

  “If you’re implying that she brought me back from the dead as Kerad once thought, I can assure you it didn’t happen. I was conscious the whole time.”

  “Boys, boys! Our goddess has given us a task, remember? The portals?” Fayne said.

  “She is not my goddess,” Trendan said flatly.

  “She’s everyone’s goddess!” Vesperin said.

  “How can you be certain she was Loracia? You and Fayne have been deceived before,” Trendan said.

  An abrupt calm fell over Vesperin. “I’m certain.”

  Fayne looked Trendan directly in the eyes. “That was really her. She knew.”

  Trendan swallowed hard but said nothing. He quickly glanced at Vesperin, but he was not paying attention. He was busy looking over his new staff. Trendan let out a sigh of relief.

  “What do you need of me?” Shexah asked. “I can send a few men with you to Shezuris, but we are not quite ready to break camp and I get the sense you are going to be moving in a hurry.”

  “Aye, you got that right. We will be moving out tonight,” Trendan said. “I don’t think we need to risk your men. I believe I remember how to find the Hall of the Great Pryus from a visit in my youth.”

  “I heard what Loracia said, but I’m almost certain the city isn’t completely cleared out yet. You saw for yourself how many of the unlife were wandering about out there.”

  Trendan looked to his companions but found no objection. “I believe we can move in and get out quickly on our own.”

  Shexah put his hands on Trendan’s shoulders. “Be careful, my friend. We will have to meet again so I may teach you the ways of the Siladil.”

  Trendan nodded and then turned to his companions. “Prepare yourselves for travel after the high priest completes the list rites over the ashes and we all finish paying our respects. Once we are all prepared, we will leave tonight before nightfall.” He lowered his head. “It feels wrong to leave so soon after honoring our fallen friend, but I think Sanmir would want us to get on with our task at hand.”

  As Trendan held up the torch in front of the ancient wooden door that Vesperin led them to beneath the chamber of the Great Pryus, he could not help but wonder if the girl had not set a trap for them. He was still not wholly convinced the girl was an aspect of Loracia. It all seemed too easy. Still, she wasn’t swooping in and saving them as much as she was directing them to a way out, a way they would not have known about by any other means. Vesperin tried to open the door, but the lock proved to be still sturdy, so he bashed it with the hammer-looking end of his staff. The lock broke loose, and he pushed the door open. Trendan shoved the torch into the opening and illuminated the room. It looked very much like a Migarath portal room. At the center was a rounded apparatus that resembled a circle inside a wooden door.

  “Wait a moment,” Tatrice said, and then she asked, “Where are we going first? Dorenn is in Ardenia and the first leg of the portal will take us to Old Symbor.”

  Fayne examined the writing around the edge of the portal after she blew the dust away from it. “If I read this right—it’s a strange mix of languages—the portal opens in Symbor first, and then you have to reactivate it and let it prime for a time before the next portal will open to Ardenia, and it must go in that order.”

  “How long does it need to prime?” Vesperin asked.

  “About an hour,” she answered. “As far as I can tell. It may read two hours.”

  “We wait for at least two hours, then, just to be safe,” Trendan said. “Why does it need to prime for the next portal to open?”

  “It has to disconnect from the old site and reconnect to the new site in Ardenia. Apparently, and I am just guessing here, it was not perfected and somewhat dangerous to use. Waiting for a time insured it was well established to the next portal,” Fayne said.

  “Well, we need to warn Symboria of the ghost ships coming to the mainland. I’m sure they are heading for the Sacred Land. We can use the extra time to find a patrol of defenders.”

  “Or we could just risk it and go on to Ardenia. If the wait period is just a precaution, we could risk traveling right away,” Vesperin pointed out.

  “I believe I would rather wait,” Bren said.

  “Me as well,” Tatrice said. “What would happen if the portal failed? I shudder to think about it.”

  Fayne read the instructions and established the portal. It roared to life, the inside looking like red and orange water swirling clockwise with distorted bolts and flashes of lightning on the sides. Each one of them entered the portal one at a time, with Trendan bringing up the rear. After an uncomfortable jolt, they all emerged on the other side. Vesperin made the end of his staff glow faintly, enough for Trendan to see a sconce with a torch nearby. Without a thought, Trendan manipulated the element of fire, and a wispy flame slowly snaked around the torch until it was fully lit.

  “Is that the first time you used your gift?” Ves
perin asked. “It’s pretty handy.”

  “What was that, Ves?” Trendan asked, and then realized what he had done. “Oh, aye, it just came to me naturally. I didn’t even think about it.” He cleared his throat. “Of course, I would rather it had stayed with its original caster.”

  “Of course, that goes without saying,” Vesperin said.

  Trendan examined the covering of the portal door to the outside. He reached up and pushed on the cellar-door-type exit, and it creaked open. Trendan handed the torch over to Vesperin as he emerged from the portal chamber while he held open the door. When they were all out, he had to leap free, and as soon as he attempted it, a gust of wind caught the door and flung it shut hard into the frame. Trendan tried to pull it open, but it was wedged stuck. “Great, the door is stuck now.”

  “I’m sure we can pry it back open,” Bren said. “What about your staff, Vesperin?”

  “If we can’t find anything else,” Vesperin answered.

  Fayne abruptly froze. “Look, there is a cemetery nearby, and something that looks very much like a Drasmyd Duil is floating over to it.”

  “Quickly, see if we can get to that outcropping of rock over there. It’s the only cover I can see,” Trendan said.

  A cold wind began to pick up as they hurried to make it to the outcropping before they were seen. None of them dared to peer over the boulders or go around it for several long minutes. When Trendan was brave enough, he looked around the rock and noticed that the creature did not seem to see any of them. He caught more movement out of the corner of his eye. Instinctively, he turned his head to look, and he saw the door had popped open on the portal room and several people were exiting it.