by Ryan Peter
Luillan, as always, was rummaging through scrolls and books, considering Tarkanyon's mission and the Twin Cities. He kept going through what he knew about the Twin Cities' history in his head. It was a fantastic story, but as usual it required careful study to decide which parts of it were true and which were only fable and legend. Then understanding if any of it meant anything for the present was the next step. Tarkanyon was better with that than him. It was important to the Outlanders that present events were properly correlated to their ancient texts, for they were seekers of the Wealth – and inevitably, this meant they were also seeking for signs that would point to the return of the Moncoin.
It had been many ages past, about one thousand and four hundred years (depending on most calendars) since the great battle that freed the Southlands from the dark menace of the Moncoin. But as prophecy foretold, a much more decisive battle was to take place in the future. The Southlands of Lexedore were expecting the Moncoin to return, one day, and with him the Wealth and the Genicoins. For their part, the Outlanders expected the Wealth or Genicoins to return first, which is why they spoke of being the Seekers of the Wealth.
But why or how the Moncoin would return was one of the things Luillan spent most of his life studying - but not nearly as much as trying to calculate why or where the Genicoins mysteriously vanished to (or if half of what history said about them was actually true). He had no solid conclusions or even workable theories.
The Moncoin was an ancient Genicoin who had discovered what was termed, in the common language, the Riches. The Riches were, as most manuscripts put it, a twisted form of the Wealth – magic, or the substance of magic, that the Genicoins had mastered. The nature of this magic was unknown to men and would always remain a secret of the Genicoins.
With the Riches the Moncoin released the Hircoi, an ancient evil, from its chains and gave it entrance into the world. The result of this was a war amongst the Genicoins that raged for generations. Eventually the Genicoins appeared in Lexedore as mysteriously as they disappeared after the war. They came to Lexedore for refuge, tired and almost beaten in their war. The Genicoins brought technology and progress to Lexedore. For generations they armed and prepared Lexedore against the Moncoin, whom they said would come to face them all. Soon enough he did. Many blamed the Genicoins for bringing their war with them.
It was not much time before the Hircoi, now no longer found in the essence of one creature but living in a mysterious way in the armies led by the Moncoin, defeated and destroyed the north of Lexedore, the kingdoms from over the Great Mountains. These kingdoms fell, one by one – some willingly, others after great battles. The Hircoi then came through the Great Passing and infiltrated the south. During this time the Genicoins were creating what were known as the Threyal - the Three Armies.
As legend told it, each of the Threyal had power over a particular part, or element, of the land. They were armies of Sea, Earth, and Sky. How the Genicoins 'created' (for those were the words used in the manuscripts) the Threyal had something to do with the Wealth. After the Genicoins disappeared so did the Threyal. It was believed that they fell asleep and would awaken at the return of the Wealth when the Genicoin kings would march with them to battle once again.
However, that prophecy had some strange twist to it. It was quite popular to think that the Genicoin kings would rule the Threyal when they march, except that some particular prophecies used the word 'king' instead of 'kings.' This made a lot of difference, and some of Luillan's favourite manuscripts used 'king.' Luillan was convinced that it was to be one person who would rule them. There was even one prophecy, from the scrolls of Termiun, that said “A kings, who the Wealth has come to; he will march with them, and face that darkness once again on the shore of darkness.” The grammar was just too strange for it to really mean 'kings.' It must have meant only one.
It took many years for the Moncoin to travel southwards through the Great Passing from the conquered northern lands of Julian and Kelagot. He was not swift, as one would expect him to be, for his bond with the Hircoi made it difficult to travel and travelling weakened him. Nevertheless, he came, a dark and creeping evil advancing towards its goal.
Although the Hircoi had already infiltrated the Southlands, they would gain in strength as the Moncoin drew closer. Their union with the Moncoin meant that they were also weaker when distant from his presence. So that is why the Moncoin came, and indeed had to come, setting his eyes towards Chronalia, the capital city of Lexedore, known as the Jewel of Peace. It was this city he desired to conquer and subdue, and already the Hircoi were pushing against it.
The people of Lexedore and the Genicoins built and cut Iza-Kiêrre and Ben-Kiêrre on either side of the Great Passing, into the mountains. These cities were built alike, except the city at the east faced west, and the western city faced east. What history books said is that “they were built as weapons” and “instruments of justice (or righteousness)”; this meant that they were built as some kind of protection against the Moncoin at the Great Passing.
Other manuscripts called them Protectors of the South — two great weapons which would house the armies who protect the Passing. Luillan was not sure exactly what this 'protection' or 'weapon' meant, but he had charged Tarkanyon to discover something of it, as he was sure it had something to do with the Bird of Fire.
The Bird of Fire was said to have been the creature that destroyed the Moncoin's fortress in the desert. When the Moncoin had passed through the Great Passing the cities were not yet finished, but the Moncoin was not yet strong enough to oppose them. But he built a menacing fortress between them instead. Here he would command his Hircoi armies through the south and advance slowly towards Chronalia.
His plans were not fulfilled. Although the Madness of the Hircoi, which followed them, grew around southern Lexedore, the Twin Cities were eventually constructed in time – at the same time the Moncoin had completed establishing his own fortress. It was then that the great battle began. The Twin Cities fought with all their might and for many years protected Lexedore from the Hircoi advancing. Luillan had read – and whether it was poetic myth or true – that the cities themselves were built with the Wealth (sometimes called “the Light”) and so could not be sufficiently opposed by the Moncoin.
A stalemate at the Passing soon developed and the Moncoin could not travel while the cities fought against him, as he would be too weak to oppose all the South at once. At last the Genicoins finished their creation of two of the Threyal – the armies of Earth and Sky. The two Threyal marched with the Armies of Dernium and the alliance of the Southlands and allied with the armies of the Twins. In two fateful weeks the Southern Alliance fought with their might and drew much of the Hircoi back to the their deep, black fortress. The Hircoi that had not drawn back were sufficiently weakened as they lost their bond with their other brigades, and they were defeated separately.
All were now on the quest of driving the Moncoin back through the Great Passing, and after a month of relentless and fierce fighting the fortress was crushed and the Moncoin had to flee. But how was it crushed? The Bird of Fire. Some of the history books, the most ancient, said that 'the Light-less Fortress was crushed by a great light, the light of the Twin Cities, two great weapons who -- when the day was set -- sent forth its flight into the mountains and burnt the dark fortress and its Madness as an eternal judgement against them.'
Geographically, this didn't make sense, for the fortress was not in the mountains but rather between the cities, some way ahead of the Passing, and – as was thought – where the Meadow had been planted afterwards. There was never clarity on this text, especially with its odd grammar, although it could be excused if it was simply metaphor and poetry. The problem Luillan had with it was that it sometimes appeared literal.
He didn't understand what it meant by 'sending forth its flight' either, only that this could indicate the Bird of Fire. It was too cryptic for understanding.
The Moncoin, forced to flee, was weak and thus the Hircoi also grew
weak. At first the Moncoin fled into the mountains but was opposed by the Threyal of the Sky there. Luillan wondered if this was what the text about the cities and the mountains was referring to. Perhaps the Threyal of the Sky were, in fact, the Bird of Fire. The Moncoin then had to travel back through the Passing, and as he fled so the Alliance found increasing victory. The Twin Cities were instrumental here too as they housed the armies that fought against the Moncoin in the Passing. It was not until the Moncoin had at last come to the other side of the Passing that the war began to become difficult again. The Moncoin was incredibly weakened and some of the north was redeemed, but as time went by communication between the north and south completely stopped.
The Twin Cities continued to serve as protection and shelter, formidable and permanent fortresses that prevented the Moncoin from coming to the south ever again. Some time after the victory the Twin Cities entered into their covenant and promise – to be binding for ever. They would always protect the Passing and the people of Lexedore, and they would never wage war amongst themselves, or use the cities as weapons against each other or the land. The cities would be an eternal symbol of peace and strength.
The Moncoin’s fortress was in ruins, but a madness was still there – the Madness or Sickness of the Hircoi that followed or preceded them wherever they were or once had been. Some said that the Bird of Fire died there and out of it sprang the garden, others that the Genicoins took seeds from the Ancient Gardens, destroyed the fortress’s ruins, and planted the Meadow. It took some time for the garden to flourish as the land of Lexedore had been tainted and made sick because of war and it needed time to recover.
There, within that meadow, the Genicoins built what was simply called a Window – a legend of its own right. There were three Windows built by the Genicoins, each to remind all of the madness of war and the darkness of the Moncoin. However, none knew where the Window was, and many thought that it was, in fact, the Tree of the Covenant, while others thought the Window was a metaphor for the Meadow. While wars amongst the nations did follow after the war with the Moncoin, which is a tale of its own, the treaty and covenant was upheld by the Twins – and the kingdoms they represented. They did not war against each other or enter into any of the wars of the south. They would guard the Passing and watch always for the return of the Moncoin.
It was only perhaps a generation after the Moncoin's ultimate defeat that the Genicoins mysteriously vanished and were never seen again.
For Ahmatein to burn the Tree of the Covenant was grievous and serious. For this meant an end to peace that had lasted for over a thousand years and could spark another war between the lands. For many, it also meant that the Moncoin could now return. For many others, that time had long passed, and things would be the same as they had always been.
Luillan continued to think on these things while looking over a letter he received from Tarkanyon. So they had to now attend to some Foré business? Predictable. But the assassination attempt on Soilabi was unexpected. And Soilabi’s retaliation by sending his army out to destroy Ben-Kiêrre’s Guards of the Passing, men who were stationed to watch over the Passing, was equally as unexpected.
How the war between the Twins would ensue was anyone’s guess. He hoped Tarkanyon would arrive there soon. Quickly, he began to write a letter in reply. He would have to send it to Iza-Kiêrre, for that was the best way to ensure Tarkanon would receive it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
