by Sam Ferguson
“This is paradise,” Allun Rha said. “No pettiness, no greed, no envy or lust, no hate. Here you will find only compassion and honesty. It has been so for the last several centuries, since I founded the village after the battle of Hamath Valley.”
“Every person who lives here is like this?” Erik asked, still unable to believe it.
“All except for you and me,” Allun Rha said. “I was tainted by Nagar’s blight, but the large crystal you saw in my tower suppresses that and keeps me safe. Still, there is a bit of darkness left in me.”
“Can I become like these people?” Erik asked.
Allun Rha shrugged. “Perhaps one day you will, perhaps not. That will be something you decide in a year from now.”
“A year from now, what do you mean?” Erik asked.
“Come, let me show you something else,” Allun Rha said as he changed the subject. The two of them floated to a nearby house. At Allun Rha’s insistence, they stepped off from their stones and slipped into the house. In the back of the large room sat an elderly couple. They were talking and happy, while a young child played on the floor in front of them. “These two have been married for nearly sixty years,” Allun Rha said. “They have never once had a single argument, nor has either betrayed the other or in any way belittled or demeaned them.”
Erik looked at the couple and saw that they were, in fact, locked arm in arm sitting together as they watched the child. Both had genuine, large smiles across their faces.
“Don’t get me wrong, there is still sadness here in the village, but it is only the sadness that comes with death, or sickness. But there is no problem here caused by humans unless those humans come from without our wall.” Allun Rha puffed up his chest and folded his arms as he smiled at the couple. “Every couple in the village is like this one. They know an unbounded happiness. The younger couples work in the fields during the day, providing for both the young and the old who are not able to work. The old watch the young in the homes, and everyone is provided for. No one is left wanting for food, shelter, or family here.”
“Sounds perfect,” Erik commented.
“It is paradise,” Allun Rha said again. Then his smile disappeared and he sighed. “Unfortunately, I can only remain within the confines of the village. For me to go beyond the walls is to lose the protection of the crystal. That is something I cannot do.” The wizard then turned to Erik and placed a hand on his shoulder. “That is why I need you. I will train you, and teach you how to use the power I created. You will then be able to conquer that evil magic kept within Nagar’s book, and you can show the people of the Middle Kingdom how to achieve the same happiness that the people here have found.”
Allun Rha snapped his fingers and the two of them were again back in the tower, sitting together upon the couch.
Erik glanced around nervously.
“You’ll get used to it,” Allun Rha said.
It occurred to Erik then that he had not seen Jaleal while they were out and about. “Where is Jaleal?” he asked.
“The gnome?” Allun Rha gestured at the floor. “He is downstairs. You may go to him if you wish, but Delfin and Adori are taking turns keeping him company and explaining some of the things I am explaining to you.” Allun Rha stood and motioned to the door. “I can wait here if you want to go and speak with him.”
Erik was about to stand, but then he remembered Salarion. He shook his head. “No, we don’t have the time. Teach me to use the power.”
“Why the rush?” Allun Rha asked. His voice was not stern, but there was an edge to it that had not been there a moment ago.
“Do you know Salarion?” Erik asked.
Allun Rha arched a brow. “Not personally, but I know of her. Nagar’s daughter is an enigma unto herself. Why do you ask?”
Erik rubbed his hands together and leaned forward on the couch. “That is why we need to hurry. She has the book.”
“You crossed paths with her?”
Erik nodded. “I thought she was a friend at first. She helped me escape from Demaverung, and then later on she helped me escape from a Tarthun camp, and she even helped Jaleal heal from wounds that should have killed him while he was inside some sort of cocoon.”
Allun Rha tugged at his beard and muttered something under his breath. “She helped you?” he pressed.
Erik nodded again. “But then it turned out she was only using us to get to the book. She put some sort of powder on Jaleal that gave her access to his mind so she could find where we had hidden the book.”
“This is most interesting,” Allun Rha said. “I know of several prophecies that call her by name, but none of them match what you describe. More intriguing still, is the fact that in none of the prophecies about the Champion of Truth does she ever meet you face to face. What is it, I wonder, that has disturbed the fates to such an extent?”
Erik sighed and fell back onto the couch. He rubbed his hand over his face and sighed.
Allun Rha clapped his hands and one of the floating blue stone discs appeared before Erik. There, sitting on the stone disc was a small, golden book sealed with a simple brown ribbon. “Open it,” Allun Rha instructed. “For there you have the power you need.”
Erik reached forward and took the book in his hands. There was no title written, but that didn’t stop him from untying the ribbon and opening the book. It was smaller than he had much smaller than he had thought it would be. There were maybe ten pages inside the book, with a couple of them left entirely blank. The first page that held words was written in a strange language.
“I can’t read this,” Erik said.
“Can you not?” Allun Rha asked. “Most interesting,” he muttered under his breath. He approached Erik and turned the page for him. “What about this?”
Erik looked down at the runes, recognizing several of them, but unable to fully understand them in the context of a written passage. “I know some of them, but not all.”
Allun Rha issued forth a sound of disgust and impatiently flipped through the pages, skipping to the final page which was written in Common Tongue. “You can at least read this, correct?”
Erik blushed. He felt as though he had just failed an important exam at Kuldiga Academy for the tone Allun Rha used. The young champion nodded and pulled the book closer to himself. His eyes moved left to right as he read the lines on the page. His hands started to tremble and he let the book rest in his lap as he stared at it.
“I can’t do that,” Erik said after he finished.
“Why not?” Allun Rha pressed. The wizard bent low and pointed a finger down at the book. “That is what you must do. There is no other way.”
Erik shook his head. “I can’t,” he said angrily. “What is the difference between your magic and Nagar’s?”
“Ha!” Allun Rha snatched the book up in his hands and it disappeared instantly. “You dare compare me with him! Who are you to judge me?” Allun Rha bent lower so that his nose nearly bumped Erik’s. “This is not about power. This is not about controlling others to serve yourself. This spell, the Illumination, was written and created for one purpose, to counter Nagar’s spell that would bind men’s souls to evil and rot their hearts. He would force all to serve him by chaining them in darkness. The Illumination would break those chains, and allow men more freedom than has ever been known.”
Erik shook his head and squirmed out from under Allun Rha. “No!” he shouted. “I read the words. I read the description.” He pointed toward the wall. “You said this was a paradise, but it isn’t. It is just another prison. Your spell forces people to choose good over evil, and does not allow them the freedom to choose for themselves. How can you call that anything but slavery?”
“You misunderstand,” Allun Rha said. “Every spell is like a coin. This is only the counter side to Nagar’s spell. It is the only way to break his magic. There is no other way. Nagar’s Secret cannot be destroyed, nor can the knowledge be unlearned. It will always exist. However, you can conquer it with this.” Allun Rha ge
stured with an open palm to the village beyond the walls of his tower. “They are the descendants of a great army that fought with me in Hamath Valley. You saw them. You could feel their happiness. There is no strife here, no opposition, and no suffering except that which is brought on by death. Imagine what that would be like. Imagine the joy you can spread through the Middle Kingdom. You don’t have to set yourself up as a king, as Nagar or Tu’luh would have done, but you can bring peace. Not a shaky peace as men do for a season, but a lasting, true peace.” Allun Rha stepped close and grabbed Erik by the collar and brought him in close enough that the boy could see the tears forming in Allun Rha’s eyes. “You have what every child wishes for when they are still innocent. You can give the world peace.”
“A golden chain may be prettier and easier to wear than a chain of iron, but it is still a chain by any definition,” Erik said defiantly. “There is no peace without strife. The people of this village know joy, but do they understand what true happiness is without the struggle? Can they even appreciate what you have done? What of the lives they could have had if allowed to choose for themselves?”
Allun Rha snarled and pushed Erik away. “What of the four horsemen?” he snapped. “Have you forgotten the vision Tu’luh showed you? That is a very real danger. They will come, and when they do there will be no life left upon Terramyr. They will destroy the very heart of the world! How will you justify the destruction and death they will bring when all you have to do to stop it is use my spell to change the hearts of the people? What possible benefit can you gain by ignorantly insisting that men make all of their own choices? Can’t you see that they will be happy? The whole Middle Kingdom can become like this village, a paradise! You can then travel to far off lands and spread the peace until the four horsemen no longer have a need to come. That is the only way to stop the impending doom looming over us.”
“There has to be another way,” Erik said.
“There isn’t!” Allun Rha shouted. “I have spent the last several centuries scouring for it, and there is no other way! I would have found it.”
Erik took in a breath and looked the wizard dead in the cold, icy blue eyes. “Nagar’s magic would force chaos onto the people, and enslave them. Yours would force peace, but it would still be a dull slavery, a mocking of the very life to which we are entitled. Life cannot thrive in either condition, but it is found somewhere in between, when men are allowed to choose for themselves. Otherwise how would we ever know the good from the bad?”
“You saw for yourself,” Allun Rha reminded him. “You used your gift and found no bad among any in this village.”
Erik shook his head. “No, what I saw were only counterfeits forced to dance to your magical tune. Now I see the truth of it, they are closer to dancing puppets than they are people. I don’t want any part of that.”
Allun Rha smiled and folded his arms. In a moment all of the fight left his face, replaced with what Erik could only guess was pleasure or perhaps pride. “Then, Erik Lokton, you are the Champion of Truth as foretold in the prophecies.”
Erik stiffened, not sure of what had just happened.
Allun Rha held his hands out wide as if he wanted a hug, but he didn’t move closer to Erik. Instead, he continued talking. “The power in the Illumination is the only way to stop Nagar’s magic. It holds the key to countering the evil that would enslave everything in the known realm. However, you are correct. Nagar’s is a slavery of chaos and dominions, while my spell is a slavery of a different shade. Though it may bring happiness, that happiness is empty and hollow when compared to the life the people could have.”
“If you know this, then why do you still hold the people of this village?”
The wizard’s smile faded and his arms fell to his sides. “I used the magic in Hamath Valley. It was the only way to protect the armies we had raised against Tu’luh from the power of Nagar’s Secret. At the time, I did not understand that it would be a permanently binding spell, nor did I know it could be passed from generation to generation. When I fled, I took the survivors with me, hoping to find the key to undoing what I had done. To this day, I have not found any such remedy. However, as I said before, I had been wounded, and tainted by Nagar’s blight. So traveling became very difficult for me. When we reached this plateau we stopped and erected a small camp. The next day the crystal you saw in the chamber below was floating in the center of the camp. Beneath it was a man I had never seen before. He wore red robes, and his eyes were pure white. I don’t remember much else about his features, but his eyes I can still see as clearly as if he were here now.”
“A mystic?” Erik asked.
“I told you I had met one. He helped me erect this tower and cleanse my soul of Nagar’s taint. Unfortunately, the damage done was severe enough that I was told I could never leave the boundaries of the village, else I should succumb to Nagar’s power and die.” Allun Rha moved over to sit upon the couch and stared at the floor. “So, the mystic gathered the soldiers I had brought with me and took the majority out to the east, to the Immortal Mystic and his temple. Some he left with me to found the village.”
“Wait, you said the mystics died off,” Erik interjected.
Allun Rha nodded. “I lied,” he explained. “As I told you in the village, I am not free of deceit.”
Erik bristled. “Then, I should have noticed when you lied,” he said. “That is what my gift does. It allows me to discern the truth.”
Allun Rha’s mouth twisted into that sly grin he had put on before. “I am a powerful wizard, Erik,” he said. “More than that, I work with the mystics. They know the secrets of the gift you possess, and have shown me a few ways around it.”
“But why?” Erik asked. “None of this is making any sense. Why lie to me, why not just tell me where the Immortal Mystic is instead of wasting my time?”
“Ah, there is the hot-headedness again,” Allun Rha said as his grin faded. “You had to be tested,” Allun Rha explained. He rose to his feet and held out his right hand, palm up. “When the Champion of Truth is presented, he or she must be tested. Their integrity must be proven before they are allowed to take the power that I created. That is the only way to separate the true champion of prophecy from the pretenders and those who would succumb to the temptations put before them.” Allun Rha gestured to the door with his head. “You are not the first to make it this far. There have been two other candidates brought by a Keeper of Secrets. Like you, neither of them matched the description in the prophecies. However, they were both imbued with dragon’s blood, and they appeared to have excellent integrity and a sincere desire to help those around them.”
Erik understood then that Allun Rha spoke of Delfin and Adori. “The Sahale twins?”
Allun Rha nodded. “Unfortunately, they did not pass the test. They agreed that in order to save the Middle Kingdom, they would use the Illumination to dominate it, albeit a domination of peace and joy. For their lack of wisdom, they were never allowed to have the power. Instead, they became subject to it, and now serve as guardians of the village. It is as the Immortal Mystic instructed me to do with any who failed the test.”
“What of me?” Erik asked as he stared at Allun Rha’s extended hand. “What is to become of me?”
“There is but one more test I have to give you, and then I will show you the way to the Immortal Mystic, and there he will show you how to truly defeat Nagar’s magic, in a way that I never could.”
Erik paused. “You said there was no way to do it without using the Illumination, I don’t want the people to be enslaved. So, if that is the only way, tell me now so I can return to find Salarion before she uses the book.” As he finished his words he summoned all of his power and focused it on Allun Rha. As he did so, he could see the dark, fog-like stain deep within Allun Rha’s being. Yet, despite this he found no ill intent in the wizard.
“It will require you to use it, but not in the same way I did,” Allun Rha said. “I do not know all of the details, as I am not the chosen on
e. That is only for you to know, and only the Immortal Mystic can answer that for you.”
Erik was satisfied with the answer. “Alright, I will do it.” He took Allun Rha’s hand to seal the agreement. A flash of golden light blasted through him at that moment. Hot, brilliant tendrils wrapped around him from every direction and he found himself floating along in a sort of astral plane filled with nothing but vapors, light, and the golden tendrils snaking around him. He struggled against them, but they constricted and squeezed him until he couldn’t even gasp for breath.
He opened his mouth to scream and one of the tendrils slipped in to fill the void. He felt the thing grow through him like some sort of root, but it was not painful as he had expected. It actually comforted and calmed him. His hands and fingers began to glow as light budded and then shot out from them to extend as far as he could see. All of his worries and cares seemed to melt away and he forgot all of his recent pain and suffering.
The first memory to fade was that of Tatev. A golden tendril stretched through Erik’s forehead, but it didn’t hurt. Instead of the pain one would expect it was more of a tingling tickle as the tendril reached through his head and pulled out Tatev’s image. The tendril flicked the image away and then reached in for another. Salarion and her betrayal was the next to leave. Erik nearly reached out for the memory back. He couldn’t remember why, but something about a book almost compelled him to take the memory back.
One by one all of the hurtful memories were pulled from his mind and discarded. For each one that was pulled, the tendril would place a glowing orb of light inside Erik’s mind, comforting and soothing him. His body filled with such peace that he desired nothing more than to stay there in that cloudy place, surrounded and protected by the golden tendrils and their peace.
