by P D Ceanneir
It took several long seconds for the Blacksword’s face to overshadow the prince’s. The wide black eyes looked straight into the former baron’s grey-brown ones.
‘We knew it,’ he whispered loudly in that harsh raspy voice of his. Cold and as hollow as a stone tomb, ‘the prince and I knew that there had to be a mistake. A Pyromancer cannot burn himself to death.’ He was actually smiling. At least, the malevolent grin had a tinge of glee.
Shanks stood and reached out his hand to touch the face of the Blacksword, and to Molna and Lord Ness’s surprise, he let him.
‘Amazing, just amazing,’ said Shanks, ‘the physical transformation is startling, I understood that you were a separate persona, like my madness, but the change is so pronounced...’ he stopped talking and looked at the two on the bed, ‘forgive me. Yes, to answer your questions, my death was faked.’
‘Then Kasan and Cinnibar used another body?’ said Lord Ness.
‘Yes, and placed me here for forty years.’
‘Why did they do that?’ asked the Ri.
‘They did it because of the Brethac Ziggurat.’
Molna, who knew part of the story, threw Lord Ness a questioning look when he flinched slightly, but the Ri continued to stare at Shanks in what could best be described as a mixture of worry and surprise. She was about to ask a question but Havoc got there before her. The face of the Blacksword dimmed and became flushed with colour as her son took dominance of his body once again. Even halfway through the metamorphosis Havoc’s voice spoke. Molna found it disconcerting that her son’s voice rang out clearly but the eyes remained pitch black before fading back to green.
‘What is the Brethac Ziggurat?’ as he took a deep breath after the exertions of the change. He sat down next to Lord Ness and never took his eyes off the old man sitting before him.
‘Lord Ness knows,’ said Shanks, nodding towards his former master.
Ness Ri gathered himself under their scrutiny. He lifted a hand and waved it towards the open door. Havoc sensed the use of the Rawn Arts and saw how effectively the Ri fashioned a ward around the door by hardening the air and enforcing it with energy from the earth element. It was a neat trick, anyone outside would not be able to hear them talking even though they were miles from the nearest soul. The Ri was being cautious. He cleared his voice and answered the prince’s question.
‘They are an ancient order from before our time on Tattoium-Tarridun. Since before the Eldi reached the level of Ri’s, actually. A temple to the Dark Force of the Earth called the Order of the Brethac Ziggurat was built by...undesirables...but it was destroyed by the Eldi in their youth and the order quashed.’
‘Some survived, in secret,’ interrupted Shanks, ‘those that exist today call themselves the Lovers of Destiny.’
‘Cinnibar and Kasan,’ nodded Molna.
‘To name but two, the order has grown again. Many Vallkyte nobles are part of it and so, I’m sorry to say, are a few Ri’s from the Ri Order.’
Lord Ness did not flinch this time. He stared impassively at Shanks.
‘How do you know this?’ he asked.
‘Because I was once a member in my youth; after I passed the Canndali, I joined them, oh... I was experiencing Pyromantic trouble at that time of course. I thought that the Canndali would cure me of my curse, but it only made me worse. Then I met Cinnibar, who helped me, and I became her lover.’
‘No, not you and that...witch!’ said Molna in surprise. Havoc also noted that a flash of anger and jealousy passed over his mothers face.
‘Yes Molna. Cinnibar was beautiful in those days. Not as she is now of course, she was intoxicating. We shared many things and she used the Arts to calm my madness.
‘She introduced me to many of the Brethac Priesthood and when she had me totally in her control, she showed me the Cloud Orrinn.’
Lord Ness, who was listening rapt at this point sat up straight at the mention of the Cloud Orrinn.
‘What is that, I’ve never heard of it?’ he said.
‘Not many have; in fact, there are only a few in the order who know it exists at all. The Cloud Orrinn is a transmitter and receiver for talking to the Earth Daemon. It seems to have the ability to aid the user to communicate through the Dragon Lanes at any distance.’
All three remained silent for a time. Havoc rubbed his chin in contemplation.
‘I think what you say is true,’ he said, ‘Jynn Ri’s last words to me were about the Earth Daemon, how it would bring about revolution and power.’
‘Yes, Jynn was right,’ nodded Shanks. ‘Incidentally, the Havant Order is just a front for the Brethac Ziggurat. It’s role is to spread the word of the coming of power. Even though the Derma Ken religion is a free church, they are still subtlety vouchsafing in the Brethac teachings.’
‘I would’ve though it will bring about untold destruction,’ said Havoc, ‘the Earth Daemon I mean. It is the Dark Force of the Earth isn’t it?’
Shanks nodded sadly, as if the weight of his confessions would crush him.
‘So this Cloud Orrinn is a direct Link to the Gredligg Orrinn?’ said Ness Ri.
‘Correct, but to understand that you must understand my story,’ said Shanks sitting back in his chair. ‘The Cloud Orrinn sits in a stone and brass cup surrounded by Skrol in Cinnibar’s personal chambers in Sonora. My grasp of Skrol, as you well know Master, is very good. I was able to manipulate the Orrinn and keep it active; I was also able to use my unstable volatile energies to control the Orrinn in a surprising manner, as I have said, I could talk to the Earth Daemon. Cinnibar was ecstatic, but she was soon to realise that my Pyromantic powers were now becoming unstable and uncontrollable.
‘I don’t remember much of the years I was in Sonora, nor much of what was spoken between the Entity and me. What I do know is that it used me as a Herald, to relay information back to Cinnibar and the Brethac Ziggurat. From what I could grasp, it was ordering them to prepare for his arrival,’ Shanks shrugged, ‘not sure how that will come about, but the main thing is, I kept the important information to myself.’
Havoc blinked, ‘which was?’
Shanks frowned in concentration. The strain of remembering through the scars of brain damage was plain on his lined face.
‘The Earth Daemon is a creature of remarkable intelligence, confidence and awesome violent power. Yet, there is also a significant amount of fear emanating from it. Fear of one thing and one thing only.’ He looked straight towards Havoc.
‘What does it fear? Molna prompted.
‘Me,’ said the prince, ‘or more precisely, the Blacksword.’
Shanks nodded, ‘yes, the Blacksword. In each of our correspondence together, he continually asked that the Order destroy the Blacksword. Of course, in those days the Sword that Rules did not exist, which always confused me why he would constantly ask. I even did an in-depth study of the Blacksword Prophecy and concluded that the “Wandering Prince” certainly did not refer to me, though members of the Order probably assumed it did and I did not encourage them to think otherwise.
‘However, the thing that sticks in my mind about all this is the Earth Daemon’s understanding of the Blacksword existence. It seemed too have some foreknowledge of the Blacksword being around forever, existing in all time, though I do not know how that could be.’
‘It seems the My’thos work in mysterious ways.’ Lord Ness whispered.
‘Indeed,’ Shanks acknowledged.
‘But, how could the Blacksword be a threat to the Earth Daemon?’ said Havoc with a deep questioning frown.
Shanks looked furtively towards Lord Ness and Molna, and then he shrugged, ‘I know not, your majesty.’ Havoc got the sense that he knew far more than he was letting on, but refused to say anything in front of his mother and the Ri. Before the prince could probe on the subject further, Shanks carried on with his story as if there was no interruption.
‘Anyway, my contact with the Earth Daemon brought on my madness for short spells and few could aid me. Ci
nnibar worried about my sanity and to keep the Cloud Orrinn and the Brethac Ziggurat a secret she authorised those Ri’s that were loyal to her to cure or control me.’
‘Nestor, Varix and Fowyn,’ sighed Ness Ri, ‘That was just before you killed King Sallen and his family during the last Ancarryn. No wonder they did not wish me to interfere, I could have helped you to control your volatile emotions as I have done with Prince Havoc. Those three are strong in the Ri Order and now my suspicions have been realised. Please forgive me Telmar; I left you to the wolves when you were so vulnerable.’
Shanks nodded once and Havoc noticed a tear in the corner of his eyes. The prince knew part of the story in regards to his distant cousin Sallen, who was a poor and despised king. Baron Telmar’s slaughter of the Vallkyte royal family was the basis that many flocked to his cause as the Vallkytes new king. It also instigated a civil war with the Roguns.
‘What suspicions?’ Molna asked the Ri.
‘I have known for some time now that the Ri order is disintegrating. The twelve members are scattered around the island or missing and there are only a few of them I can truly trust completely. Others have disappeared under suspicious circumstances, while the rest have given their services to enemy factions, such as Saltyn.’
‘There is not much you could have done, master,’ said Shanks. ‘The Brethac are everywhere, skulking in secret until they are needed to progress their cause. Kasan’s plan to destroy the Roguns and the Sonorans was just a small peak in the grander scheme of things. He had many there to help him in the long run.’
‘I knew he must have had some help!’ said the prince, ‘it did not seem as if he could pull the wool over our eyes, or the Ri Orders. The scale of the war in the Wildlands and the deception by the Vallkytes at Dragorsloth makes more sense now.’
‘Yes, my lord, but you have been the thorn in their side,’ said Shanks jabbing a finger towards him, ‘so too has the Blacksword. Just as the Brethac Ziggurat have reached the height of their powers, along comes the prophecy that all people fear.’
Havoc nodded, ‘very convenient.’ He turned towards Lord Ness, ‘perhaps the Old Gods do work in mysterious ways.’
‘To continue,’ said Shanks, ‘before my madness took hold, after I was passed to the Ri Order for further tests and a possible cure, I found a way to escape their prison and took the Vallkyte throne. I regret the act now, but at the time, the people of the citadel welcomed it. King Sallen was not a popular monarch and I killed him in a fit of rage. It became a revolution of sorts. Cinnibar thought that I had instigated the start of the Brethac revival and the coming of dominance for the order, unfortunately not. The citadel officials, under my orders, executed the parliament representatives, who were all Members of the Brethac Order, and crowned me in their place. My mad killing spree spread to those of the Lovers of Destiny that I knew of; and in so doing, I was single handedly dismantling the pillars of the Brethac Ziggurat. Most of what I did was a blur, as if in a dream. However, it would explain why I killed my best friend.’
‘Grandfather Vanduke,’ answered Havoc.
‘Yes, he and I were very close. We trained in the arts together; I was your father’s godfather, bet you did not know that?’
Havoc was surprised, and then shook his head.
‘Vanduke the Elder was also a member of the Brethac Ziggurat,’ informed Shanks.
Havoc, his mother, and Lord Ness all said, ‘No!’ in surprise at the same time.
Shanks nodded. ‘He was sent to convince me to stop my mad rampage and for me to seek help again for my condition. Insanity has a strange affect on one’s perspective on life, maybe it was my madness or my knowledge of the Brethac, either way I concluded that the order was wrong and had to cease. Therefore, I sent my host to destroy the Rogun negotiating party in a battle down by the River Platte. It was later to known as the Battle of the Single Survivor.
‘I think that I took pity on your father, my Lord Havoc, he heard everything his father and I said at the negotiating table. Even the startling revelation that your grandfather being a member the Brethac Ziggurat. Therefore, I wiped his memory of the events. I think, in retrospect, that my thoughts at that time were to have an accomplice in young Vanduke. I placed the knowledge of the Brethac Order inside his head. I hope that it will vindicate me of some of my more terrible crimes; crimes that my own guilt will continue to punish me for.
‘Unfortunately, when I came to clear his memories of the meeting, I inadvertently inserted a single Pyromantic Spore into his sub-conscious.’
All three, sitting on the narrow bed, did not move and only frowned at Shanks in confusion. Havoc felt that he was on the verge of a revelation. In truth, he feared the answer.
‘In my years before the Pyromantic insanity took hold,’ Shanks continued, ‘I did a detailed study of the curse and came up with many startling conclusions. For one thing, it can be passed on to someone else. Passing it on to your father, my lord was regrettable. I feel I was compelled to do it.’ At this point he held up a hand to ward off a question from Havoc, ‘don’t ask me how. My memories are still fragmented of that time, but in hindsight it was a necessity if you understand the Prophecy of the Blacksword.’
‘“The wandering prince rages forth”, yes I know that the prophecy is about me and not you. Although my father is not a Pyromancer,’ explained the prince.
‘I never said that he was, my Lord. I used enough of the water element in the Thought Link to wipe his memories; as a result, I passed a small amount of Pyromantic energy into his mind. There it gestated until it was large enough to be sent to someone else.’
Images in Havoc’s mind flashed before his eyes, the blade of Selnour burning bright with a Pyromantic Fire, put there by Captain Verkin. An image of the arrowhead popping out of Verkin’s wounded shoulder as the prince tried to heal him with the arts.
‘Verkin...Captain Verkin!’ he gasped looking at Ness Ri. ‘He became a Pyromancer towards the end on that night at the Trinkets Ball and it’s all my fault. I put it there when I healed him using the Water Element and a Pyromantic Surge.’
Lord Ness’s eyes widened in understanding; he put a comforting hand on the prince’s arm.
‘You were not to know, my lord, but…’ Havoc turned towards Lord Ness as he paused, ‘but that does not explain how the good captain became a Pyromancer from a single spore?’
‘A vast amount of energy was needed to heal this Verkin,’ said Shanks, ‘that would be the answer, you may have put too much inside him, then over time it would grow until it could be used. Was this when the Blacksword fought the Drakken?
They all nodded.
‘I thought I heard the name before,’ nodded Shanks, ‘my Lord Havoc I do not wish to make matters worse with you and your conscience, but the energy in Verkin would have killed him anyway.’
Havoc bowed his head in silence; memories of the events overwhelmed him.
‘So how does the spore pass to another?’ Molna asked, expertly changing the subject.
Pyromancy is closely related to the fire element and Pyromantic Spores are passed on through the emotional trigger that Rawns use to conjure the element of fire.’
‘Lust,’ whispered Mona, everyone looked at her, ‘Vanduke can only use the Fire Element if he uses the emotional trigger of lust.’
Shanks looked at Molna with a sad look in his dark eyes.
Havoc spoke quietly and thoughtfully into the silence. ‘Pity is the emotion that works for me...I felt pity for Verkin before I healed him, but...wait a minute, that can’t be right,’ said Havoc, looking up from his thoughts ‘I was not the first born, what about my sisters and Magnus?’
‘Females have difficulty in becoming Rawns,’ explained Shanks, ‘they cannot become Pyromancers. By the time your brother was born you already had the Pyromantic Spore inside you and it would grow in power when you reached your teens. The Blacksword is closely linked to your Pyromantic state, just like my madness, this is why I said he was my son, figuratively
speaking of course.’
‘Lucky me,’ said the prince gloomily.
‘I am very sorry, my lord, blame me for the pain I have caused in your life. I have caused much misery on many others.’ Genuine sadness seemed to overwhelm the old man in front of the prince and he felt a stab of pity for him.
‘Your madness dulled your reasoning Telmar, I do not hold you responsible,’ said Havoc, ‘but how did you come to be here?’
‘Well, the year long War of the Pyromancer culminated at the Battle of the Firelands where I was finally defeated. I overused my powers and my mind snapped. In agonising pain, I fled to a ruined fort where Kasan and Cinnibar discovered me. My fire was spent, my mind was broken and I was weak and tired. Kasan wanted to kill me there and then, but Cinnibar needed me, she needed my Pyromantic power to use the Cloud Orrinn for it required a vast amount of energy, Pyromantic energy to be exact, to contact the Earth Daemon. So she convinced Kasan to fake my death and incarcerate me here.’
‘Why not keep you in Sonora, close to the Cloud Orrinn, instead of here?’ said Molna.
‘Cinnibar did not need me to use the Orrinn, she only wanted my ability and so took enough for herself keeping me weak and deranged.’
‘Took enough?’ said Havoc.
‘Yes, you see your Aunt Cinnibar is a Waternymph,’ smiled Shanks.
‘Ahh!...that would explain a great deal,’ said lord Ness, Havoc and his mother were looking blankly at the Ri, ‘Nymphs are rare, like Pyromancers, they are also called Elementals. It was the Elementals that formed the Brethac Ziggurat in the first place all of those years ago. They had an amazing ability to control the Elements, but usually just one only. Their powers exceeded those of any Ri.’
‘In this case Cinnibar has complete control over the water element,’ added Shanks, ‘her other Rawn powers pale in comparison. Her ability to manipulate people’s minds and bodies is amazing. She was able to extract my Pyromantic powers, I could not stop her. My ability to use the Rawn Arts fled when my mind broke after the last battle. Fortunately, being female, the energy Cinnibar took never lasted long. This is why she needed me alive so she could return and recharge herself, so to speak.’
