by Dean Cadman
The voices grew louder as the large group of paladins drew closer to them. Lusam could clearly hear the men recounting their battlefield prowess to one another—as he was sure soldiers often did when a battle had been won—but he could also hear the relief in their voices that it was now over.
“Seven Gods, lad,” Renn swore as he reached them, “how in Aysha’s name did you do that?”
Lusam thought he was referring to the battle, but when he looked over Neala’s shoulder at Renn, he saw him staring up into the sky above the High Temple with his mouth hanging open. Lusam kissed Neala on the forehead and tried to gently break their embrace, but she was having none of it, and held on firmly. Lusam didn’t really need to see what Renn was looking at, and by the ever increasing whispers coming from the crowd, they too had now spotted it.
“It’s a long story, but suffice to say I used the magic from the Empire magi to recharge the city’s power crystal,” Lusam replied quietly.
“The Heart of the City hasn’t been visible like that for over two centuries, lad. It’s just… incredible,” Renn replied in a whisper, never taking his eyes from the glowing object in the sky.
“Neala!” Alexia called out, as she and Hershel pushed their way through the dense crowds towards them. She hadn’t seen her best friend since the battle had first begun, and she had been extremely concerned about Neala’s state of mind regarding her faith in Aysha, and therefore her ability to use her new blessed weapons.
Neala gave Lusam a gentle kiss on the cheek, and whispered into his ear that she loved him, before finally breaking their embrace. She quickly turned towards Alexia’s voice, but stopped mid-stride when she finally noticed the large crowd of people that were taking so much interest in them. Alexia took her by the shoulders at arms length and looked into her eyes.
“Well?” she asked, knowing that Neala would understand exactly what she meant. Neala smiled and nodded her head, as a tear of joy ran down her cheek. She had done it. She had found her faith in Aysha, and knew she would never lose it again, no matter what happened in the future. Alexia pulled her into a friendly hug.
“I knew you could do it Neala… I just knew it,” Alexia whispered through tears of her own. Neither of them had long to dwell on it, as both of them were hauled back onto the shoulders of the celebrating paladins, both now heroes in their own right.
***
The late afternoon light faded slowly into darkness as the news of their victory spread throughout the city. It created a strange atmosphere amongst the population of Lamuria, one of great joy and sadness in equal measures. It was estimated that almost a hundred thousand citizens of Afaraon had lost their lives to the Empire invasion; almost five percent of its population. Many of the bodies would never be found, but the ones that now littered the valley floor outside Lamuria would be given the dignity in death they deserved.
The King had ordered his regular troops to prepare funeral pyres for the countless dead, and they were soon joined by every able man and woman willing to help. By the time full darkness fell, an eerie orange glow filled the sky beyond the city walls. Lusam knew it would burn well into the early hours of the following morning, and probably for much longer than that.
The High Priest had requested a private meeting with Lusam later that evening, to thank him for what he had done for Lamuria and the High Temple, and to discover whether or not he intended to stay in the city for the longer term. Lusam guessed what he truly wanted to know, and promised he would add more of his magic to the city’s power crystal later, but not before he had first repaid a debt he already owed. Lusam asked to borrow one of the Power Orbs again, and the High Priest was more than happy to oblige him. He refilled the Power Orb with magic from the city’s power crystal, knowing he would be able to replenish it easily enough over the next few days, then he set off towards the Guardian book room with the High Priest.
Lusam returned the borrowed magic to the entity in Helveel as he had promised he would, and informed it of their victory in Lamuria. Although it didn’t speak directly to him this time, it did radiate several very strong emotions towards him, including satisfaction and pride—which Lusam decided to take as a good sign. He briefly considered trying to communicate directly with the entity again, but quickly decided against it. He told himself that if the entity had wished to communicate with him, it would have already done so. The last thing he wanted to do, was to anger the entity and find himself back within its clutches again, so he decided to leave it be, and simply return to Lamuria. To his credit, the High Priest never asked where Lusam had gone after he vanished through the book pedestal right in front of him, only to reappear several minutes later; something Lusam was very relieved about.
By the time Lusam had returned to Lamuria, King Theodore had already declared seven days of mourning for the dead, which was to be followed by seven days of celebrations for the living. Apparently, Lusam was to be the special guest of honour at a grand banquet celebrating his auspicious victory over the Empire’s army. The banquet would be held at the Royal Palace on the final day of the celebrations, and would be attended by all the noble families of Afaraon, along with many lesser dignitaries. Upon hearing the news, Lusam felt certain he would prefer to face another three Empire armies than what might await him at the Royal Palace. There was also a statue to be commissioned of him, one that would stand for all time in the halls of the High Temple, alongside the other great names in Afaraon’s history.
After the period of mourning had ended, Alexia was finally reunited with Rebekah and Kayden. Ever since the battle had been won, Rebekah and Kayden had been staying with Hershel’s sister, Darcie. Apparently she loved having the children there, and had already offered to look after them on a permanent basis, something the children seemed very keen on too—as long as Alexia promised to visit them regularly, of course.
Both Rebekah and Kayden had already been accepted into the High Temple’s school of magic, due to their teacher’s strong recommendations. Miss Hiroko had been so impressed by their abilities after only a single day in her class that she had gone personally to speak with the High Priest on their behalf.
Renn had been good to his word, and almost as soon as the battle was over he had requisitioned six men to accompany him back to Prystone and its surrounding towns and villages, to search for any possible survivors. None of the men had been happy about missing out on the city’s celebrations, but a promise of a week’s furlough upon their return did much to ease their grumblings. Renn asked Alexia if she would like to join his expedition, but surprisingly she had refused, stating rather cryptically that she had ‘something to do in Lamuria, and would prefer to remain there if he didn’t mind,’ but she refused to elaborate any further on the matter.
Neala and Alexia had both become almost living legends amongst the paladins who had fought alongside them that day. Alexia, for single-handedly holding back an entire army of magi with her bow, and Neala for feats on the battlefield which simply dumbfounded everyone who saw them. Lusam heard various accounts of what Neala had done that day, and had it been anyone else, he would have discounted them quickly. But he had seen Neala fight in the past, and he could only imagine what she would be capable of against the undead with a pair of blessed knives.
The celebrations seemed to stretch on and on in Lamuria, and Lusam had done his best to avoid as many of the celebratory events as he possibly could. Neala had berated him for it on several occasions, telling him in no uncertain terms that the people deserved the chance to meet him and express their thanks openly for what he had done for them, but he paid little attention to her words. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful for their efforts on his behalf, quite the contrary in fact, but he had never felt comfortable amongst large crowds of people. He had spent his entire life trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, so now, to suddenly be amongst crowds of hundreds, if not thousands of people, all wanting to speak with him or shake his hand felt daunting, to say the least. He knew it would be hard for Neala to un
derstand how he felt because she grew up amongst a large group of people, but he had only had his grandmother, then later only himself as company as he grew up. He knew he only needed more time to adjust, but that time was fast running out, as the day of the grand banquet loomed ever closer.
The King had insisted that Lusam stay as an honoured guest at the Royal Palace during his stay in Lamuria, and no matter how long he intended to remain within the city, he would always be welcome there. At first Lusam had tried to politely refuse the King’s offer, but it soon became apparent to him that it was more than a simple request. The best he managed to salvage from the situation, was to request that Neala be allowed to join him there, to which the King readily agreed. He wasn’t sure if Neala would be angry with him or not, but it soon became apparent that she was overjoyed at the chance to spend some time in the Royal Palace—especially with all its treasures.
The King had assigned Lusam and Neala over a dozen servants to attend to their every need, and by the second day within the Royal Palace Lusam felt like he was suffocating with their constant overzealous attentions. Lusam was sure he had never spent as much time in an outhouse as he did that week in the Royal Palace, not because he needed to be there, but because it was the only place the servants didn’t follow him. But even then, whenever they seemed to feel he had been in there for too long, they would ask through the closed door if he was alright, and enquire if they needed to send for an apothecary to ease any upset stomach he might have.
He never thought he would, but he actually looked forward to his daily meetings with the High Priest, when he helped to recharge the city’s power crystal. At least he got the chance to leave the Royal Palace and spend some time alone, even if it was only for the short walk to and from the High Temple.
During one particularly annoying session, both he and Neala were forced to remain almost motionless for the best part of three hours, while various tailors and seamstresses took a multitude of measurements and pinned numerous lengths of multicoloured cloth to them both. Apparently the clothes they were wearing were less than suitable for the grand banquet, and something more ‘appropriate’ would be made for them to wear in time for the big event.
“You’d think they’d just be happy you saved the city,” Neala grumbled under her breath, shortly before being stuck by yet another pin. Lusam chuckled, but was also rewarded by a sharp pin prick.
“Please try to remain still, sir,” the tailor said, without a hint of an apology.
“I’d be careful if I were you, he turned the last person who drew blood from him into a toad,” Neala said with a perfectly straight face. The tailor’s face instantly paled as he looked between Neala and Lusam for any signs of humour, and when he didn’t find any he took a step back, as if to assess his own work.
“Yes… yes, I think we have enough here to work with, sir,” he said out loud, quickly dismantling his creation, and being very careful not to prick Lusam with any of the pins he removed. There were no words exchanged between the tailor and the seamstress, but she too had her multicoloured reams of cloth and silks dismantled and stowed away even before the tailor had finished his own. With little more than a perfunctory bow, they both disappeared through the door, closing it firmly behind themselves.
“That was very mean of you,” Lusam said, grinning widely.
“Not as mean as what I was about to do to her if she stuck me with another one of her pins,” Neala replied, grinning right back at him. Lusam glanced at the door, almost feeling sorry for them, then he realised—they were finally alone. Four strides later he was at the door, the key turned with a slight clicking sound locking out the rest of the world on the other side. It was the first time in weeks he had been alone with Neala, and he wasn’t about to waste a moment of it. He turned back towards her with an even wider grin on his face, and saw her brandishing one of the seamstress’ pins menacingly at him like a miniature sword.
“If that’s supposed to scare me away, you should know that I once had a beautiful blonde girl stab me through the foot with her knife, and that didn’t work either,” he said grinning and slowly stalking towards her.
“I did not!” she squealed, dropping the pin and attempting to slap his arm. He caught her hand and pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her passionately as they both fell to the floor in each others arms—neither of them responding to the later knocks at their door.
The day of the grand banquet had finally arrived. Lusam found himself wide awake even before the sun had fully crested the high cliffs, so he decided to go early and make his magical contribution to the city’s power crystal. He had trouble sleeping all that night, and knew there was no point in trying to go back to sleep whilst his mind raced with all the possibilities of what was to come later that day.
Until a few days ago, he knew nothing about the political complexities of Afaraon, let alone how to act in the presence of Royalty, or even the lesser nobles that would be attending the grand banquet. During one of his early visits to the High Temple however, the High Priest had struck up a conversation with him regarding the Royal Palace. At first he had kept the conversations simple, mostly enquiring about how his stay at the Royal Palace was going, and had he met this person or that yet?
By the third day Lusam had begun to become a little suspicious of the High Priest’s real motives for asking all of his questions, and decided to confront him over the matter. If he was honest, Lusam didn’t much care for the High Priest. Up until that point Lusam had thought of him as a slightly conceited, self-important man who liked to revel in his own lofty position. But after he confronted him about his earlier questions, Lusam’s opinion of the man began to change considerably. It quickly became apparent that the High Priest had Lusam’s best interests at heart, and had been simply trying to comprehend the level of understanding Lusam had about the political system of Afaraon, before being ‘thrown into the lion pit with them,’ as he described it.
Lusam had already been nervous about the grand banquet, but by the end of that first day discussing it with the High Priest, he was positively terrified. He was warned that he would be used as a tool—or even a weapon if they could—between various warring noble houses. They would stop at nothing to gain his trust, and that of his closest friends. For anyone to even be seen speaking with him at the grand banquet, would gain them favour amongst the other noble houses. Friendships, were apparently traded like commodities amongst the nobles—even perceived friendships—therefore he should be very careful not to spend too much time talking with any one person there. He should expect to be showered with expensive gifts from the various noble houses, each one trying to outdo the others. He should accept the gifts graciously, but show no preference to which was his personal favourite, even if asked directly—which he surely would be, many times over.
By the end of the first day speaking with the High Priest, Lusam’s mind reeled with all of the implications. On the second day, the High Priest insisted that they held their ‘discussions’ within the inner sanctum, where they could not possibly be overheard by anyone. Apparently, he felt that even his own position within the High Temple was vulnerable to the politics of Afaraon, should he be discovered giving Lusam any guidance in the matter. One of the biggest shocks Lusam had, was when the High Priest pointed out the King’s own gift to him; the statue. No noble in the land could offer such a gift, and by doing so, the King sought to gain the loyalty of Lusam above all others. The High Priest had even suggested that Lusam should single out the King’s gift as his favourite during his speech to the gathered nobles and dignitaries. Lusam almost choked when he heard he would have to stand up in front of everyone and make a speech, but the High Priest said he would help him prepare for it, and for that Lusam was very grateful.
For each of the six days Lusam went to speak with the High Priest, he always expected him to ask for something in return—but he never did. And as Lusam got to know him more and more, he actually began to like the man. He could clearly see how he relaxe
d as soon as they entered the inner sanctum, and how his official bearing returned as soon as they left it again. Lusam began to understand why he had to be as he was—two men; one who fulfilled his official duty as the High Priest, and the real man who was hidden beneath, and unable to show himself in public.
Lusam took his usual route from the Royal Palace to the High Temple that morning. He hadn’t expected to see many people on the streets at that time of day, but he was surprised at the number of people there actually were. It was positively buzzing with activity around the Palace grounds, with various tradesmen and deliveries being made for the upcoming event. The streets quietened down again the further from the Royal Palace Lusam travelled, and it wasn’t until he was nearer the High Temple that it began to get busy again.
Lusam had heard rumours that ever since The Heart of the City had become visible in the sky again—after over two centuries of absence—people had begun to gather there at first light, to appreciate the incredible spectacle as the first rays of sunlight hit it each morning, and it seemed the rumours were true. Dozens of people lined the street, all looking up at the beautifully glowing crystal as it caught the first rays of light from the morning sun as it crested the high cliff-tops. Lusam tried his best to remain unnoticed as he walked past the crowds of people, but he only got a few short strides before the whispers started. Lusam lowered his head and continued walking towards the High Temple, pretending not to notice the whispers coming from the growing crowd.
“Sir… sir. Excuse me, sir,” a woman’s voice said from the crowd. Lusam glanced in the direction of the voice and saw a young woman holding a small baby in her arms. Lusam paused for only moment, but it was long enough for the woman to step away from the crowd towards him. He met her eyes, and saw fear within them, but it didn’t stop her advancing towards him, her baby clutched tightly in her arms. By the time she reached Lusam, he could clearly see her trembling with fear, and when she spoke, he could also hear it in her voice.
