by Jake Yaniak
Many other things did our old master recount to me during that night, until at last I sat there amazed, seeing that the sun was rising. 'Now you must go,' Jaffathed said, 'and I cannot foretell whether or not you shall return to us.'
'What do you mean?' I said, surprised. 'I am yet Nihlion; I go not in my friend's footsteps.'
'Yet still you must go, for there are great deeds to be done.'
'Great deeds?' I said puzzled. 'I am no warrior or prophet. How then can I do such things?'
'You will be to the world a two-fold witness, my son, such is the decree of that sacred spirit that comes from the Eternal One and reveals the truth to his people. In a dream I was told, even as our last elder lay dying, that you must leave our people. You must be a witness to the Omnion of the secrets of the Nihlion, for there is one from among them that needs our wisdom desperately, and to his soul is bound the fate of the northern kingdoms. To this end you must depart from us, but not in the same fashion as those rash young men who abandon our ways. A Nihlion you will remain until the world ends.'
'I am unfit and unworthy to perform such a task, my teacher,' I said with much fear in my heart.
'Fear not, child,' he said to me, 'for the sword has no skill in battle but what is wrought through the hand of the warrior. You are, as you have already indicated, not that warrior. But you are the work of that great smith, who knows for what ends he brings forth his creations. In his hand you will cut many foes and heal many wounds. But now, the time grows short and you must go to the tombstone of Thedmadera, for it is time for the old stories to come to life.'
Rahdmus
It did not occur to me that I had in any way doubted the prophecies of my people until I discovered my own surprise at the sight of old Thedmadera's tombstone. There was an old legend in our village, that upon this tombstone would come to rest one of the gods of old, a hero, a villain and a holy prophet. Nonsense this prediction had always seemed to me, for how could all these come to rest upon so small a tablet of stone. But as I made my way past the stones of my own ancestors and at last saw the a strange figure lying upon the grave of that ancient holy man, it all became clear. This was no mortal man, but rather one of the Ancients who are, by so many, deemed to be gods. His body was marked with many fell tattoos and carvings, making him seem to be a devil of hell. But to look upon his face was to look upon noble blood and a man of heroic character. For a purpose he had been laid to rest in this place; he was the messenger, bringing to the north the judgment of the gods.
I approached him slowly, for he seemed to be sleeping deeply. But when I drew near I saw that his eyes were open slightly. He rose from his place and looked at me. 'You are the one then?' he asked. 'You are the one that will go with me over the mountains?'
'So I am told,' I said, 'And though it is a calling of which I feel unworthy, I will do all that is within my power to serve you.'
'To serve one such as myself,' he said soberly, yet joyfully, 'you are more than worthy. I am Rahdmus, which I am told signifies the One who is Redeemed. Many broken things have been recast and fitted to other tasks than the ones they once performed. I was once a piercing sword, now I shall plow fields, reaping for all mankind a harvest, or so I am told. But what is a farmer without a seed?'
I could see at once that he meant for me to answer, I said, 'He will be no farmer at all.'
'Indeed,' he said to me with a smile, 'You are the seed, and your words shall bring some comfort to a man I once wounded. But we must hurry, for we have many things to do ere that day comes.'
As we walked, Rahdmus began to explain, hastily, what it was that we must accomplish. 'To the hidden people of these mountains we must first make our appeal. This, I am told, will be my first test, and whether they march to the north to the aid of Dadron or not will matter very little. I am told that I must be brought lower still, and to this end we must seek the hidden survivors of that ancient kingdom of elves.'
Finding myself completely confounded I stopped and told him plainly, 'Please, master, I am the least of many sons of a house of no renown. I know nothing of the things about which you speak.'
'Very well,' he said with a laugh, 'Where am I to begin, then?'
'At the start,' I said, 'Who are you? And by whom have you been sent?'
I have been sent by one called Paley, who has in his fist the power of a god.'
'Paley I know, but in name only, for he appears in the ancient stories of the Nihlion.'
'Then you know his purposes, the pulling down and humiliation of the mighty, and the restoration of the broken.'
'So the stories say,' I said.
'And they say truly,' Rahdmus said confidently.
'But who are you? And how have you come to rest upon this stone, even as the legends have long spoken?'
'Who am I?' he said, almost as though he was asking himself. 'I am as I have been made to be, and also as I have made myself, the latter has perished, the former has not yet been fully revealed.' He looked at the sky as if he expected it to answer his query. At last he spoke, saying, 'I am Daruvis, son of Falruvis, once lord of the Argent elves. By my hand was the mighty city of Dadron long preserved. But by my hand also did it also meet its end, falling forever into the hands of mortal men. Under Black armor did I thereafter hide myself, going about from nation to nation under the guise of a dark warrior. Lord of Havoc I was named, for in my wake always followed war and upheaval, though none of these until late had any power over me. A god was I to many, and a traitor was I to many more. I have killed and spared, tormented and shown mercy; all of this for my own ends. But in this late hour, when all the wheels of my own great engine roar and turn, trampling down the nations, I have been sent, against my own will, to set myself before it and grind the raging machine to a halt. This I am to do without drawing a blade, for I have been told that in the day that I take sword in hand against any creature I will perish, sinking down to the pit of Abban-Don, which lies, they say, deeper than the ocean.'
For the next several days we walked openly upon the southward roads, talking of many things. Rahdmus told me his whole history, which will find its proper place elsewhere, from his childhood to his battle upon Mount Coronan. In turn I taught to him all the sacred histories of our people, from our foundation until our latter end, which lies yet in the days to come. This brought him great satisfaction; he said to me, 'This is more than one could hope for; and more than I deserve to hear. Yet it is such that only those who have been stripped of their pride can bear.'
'There are none,' I said, 'who deserve such blessings as the future yet withholds.'
We continued along the southern road until we crossed the Ula River and came to the lands of the Omnion, some forty leagues to the west. We passed through these unnoticed, save by a few laborers in their fields, preparing their land for cultivation.
Far beyond these we went, until we came to a rocky place, where the road turned sharply to the south and vanished from sight in the distance. But here, without hesitation or explanation, Rahdmus left the road and continued westward.
We traveled on, sometimes turning, sometimes walking northward for many leagues only to turn round a stony bend and travel back south. When at last all these winding paths were finished we came to a place where huge boulders blocked our path on every side. Undaunted, Rahdmus walked confidently westward. But as he came to the rocks he knelt down and, finding a small tunnel hidden from sight, he vanished into the darkness. When I myself came to the rocks I saw no entrance. But Rahdmus reached his hand out from some hidden place and beckoned me to follow. Reluctantly I knelt down to the ground and after much gazing and pondering I noticed a place where the shadow of the rock upon itself was darker than in other places. Much to my surprise I discovered that this was in fact a small opening, though it was almost completely hidden from sight.
When I stepped in after him I found that we were in a small cave. 'This is the gate of the remnant of Solsis,' Rahdmus said to me as I brushed the dirt from my robes. 'Beyond this
lies a valley to which no army can ever march. This valley is itself the hidden fortress of Solsis. No walls did it need, or fortifications. For the mountain itself has always guarded it. Long have I pondered a means of destroying these hidden people, to take revenge upon them for wrongs anciently done and lies anciently spoken. But the fire of my wrath has been sealed away in death. I go now as a messenger, with power in words if with power at all. I have not been promised any success in this land.'
A torch was lit and the cave was revealed to our sight. The walls were almost perfectly round, though they were now crumbling in some places.
I cannot guess how long we walked in that dark place. It seemed to me that it must have been for at least three days, but in the changeless dark I could not tell. We came at last to a place where the tunnel opened up and our torchlight revealed a great cavern. Somewhere in the depths I could hear a mighty river rushing, tearing through the heart of the mountain, sending cool spray upon us as we traveled. Here there were many paths and bridges, leading into many dark tunnels. Rahdmus navigated these without any sign of doubt or confusion. 'You know these paths well,' I said, noting his confidence.
'I walked them many times in the ancient days,' he said sorrowfully, 'when I yet trusted the lords of the elves, my father and my uncle.' He sighed and put his hand against the wall. 'I myself labored in these very caves,' he said, 'though that was many thousands of years ago.'
In wonder I walked on, following him through many dark places. It occurred to me only in later years how foolish it would seem to walk all those mysterious paths as I did, paying no heed to where I was being led. The prudent man in me would cry out, saying, 'What would you do if you found yourself alone in this place and without a guide!?' But I feared no such thing at the time, for in the purposes of the Eternal One there is nothing to fear; they will be accomplished whether we will it or not. Small help this may seem, but to me it is a great comfort to know that one cannot overthrow the gods by folly.
The Ancients
In the distance I saw before my weary eyes a bright light. Though it seemed brighter than any light I had ever seen, it was revealed to be mere moonlight, shining upon the earth in the sun's stead. We did not travel far into the land beyond the tunnel when we were waylaid by men such as I had never imagined. Like Rahdmus in stature and nobility, they were radiant and seemed to be full of moonlight themselves. In some strange tongue they commanded us to halt, and then, seeing Rahdmus, they cried out with anger and leapt upon us, wrestling us to the ground. We were bound and blindfolded and then carried, roughly, for the rest of that day and half of the next. We stopped and were fed some sort of bread and given some water mingled with a few drops of wine. Strength the food gave us, but it left a horrid taste in my mouth. Three more days we were carried thus; westward I thought, for the sun was always behind us at the start of our journey. We came at last to a hard and flat place, where the ground was paved with smooth stones, as my ears guessed and my eyes later beheld. In this place we were brought up many flights of stairs and through many darkened hallways until at last we were cast down roughly upon hard stones.
Blinking under the bright light of the sun, we found ourselves surrounded by many mighty heroes of old. Before them stood two dozen Argent elves of Solsis, with silvery hair, bright armor and strong spears, pointed at our throats. Rahdmus knelt beside me with his eyes closed and his brow furrowed. I could not tell what went through his mind at that moment. He seemed at once angry yet sorrowful and willful yet resigned.
We were in a great stone hall, cut skillfully from living rock. In many places the rock had been split open, carefully revealing bright gemstones in the wall and ceiling itself. A labor of centuries this hall must have been. As I looked at the noble faces before me I could not doubt that it was their hands that had, in ancient times, done all this work.
'Many bold deeds hath Daruvis done in his long life,' a proud and noble voice said. 'But none will be accounted more daring than this thy coming to the land of the Betrayed.'
Rahdmus said nothing, but his eyes were clenched shut as though he was struggling with some distant memory.
'Nothing?' the voice said, 'Nothing from thy proud lips? Thou, whose tongue hath set the world ablaze?'
Through all these taunts Rahdmus said nothing.
'An enemy of this land thou art, and it would be folly for thee to expect anything but death in coming. Death thou deservest, and death I would gladly give to thee. But the manner of thy coming, without sword or army, hath puzzled me greatly. Perhaps thou hast found no more satisfying way to die, and hath come here lest even in death disappointed thou might be.'
The one who made these taunts stood upon a dais before a stone seat, carefully carved from the wall of the cave.
'I come,' Rahdmus said after he took a nervous breath, 'I come because my life has already been taken away from me. Look upon my wounds, Solran son of Lorvis son of Solruvis' Rahdmus said as his bindings, tied by elven hands, fell away and piled upon themselves on the stone floor. The elves were too stunned to do anything, much to the frustration of Solren, who stood there with his own mouth agape. When the surprise had passed, Solren stepped down from the dais and looked at the scars on Rahdmus' chest and back. He could see where the sharp blade and entered and left his body. 'What is the meaning of this devilry?' he asked him.
'A tree must be broken and cast down ere it can be remade into more useful things,' he answered, 'I have been broken. Now I am being remade by the one whom the elves have long forgotten.'
'Of the Old World thou speakest,' Solran said.
'Indeed,' Rahdmus answered. 'I have been sent to warn you. The doom of the elves yet lies upon you. And you shall not escape it in Tel Arie. Return, therefore, to the One whom you have abandoned, and you will find rest for your weary souls.'
'Truly thou meaneth to slay us all,' Solran laughed. 'Was it not from his wrath that our fathers in the ancient days fled? Are there not yet some among us who remember the terror that fell upon us in that hour? I remember the screaming and the horror of those that drowned, though I remember little else. I was but a child when my father and grandfather left the Northern World in crude rafts of wood, but the dread of that place has not left me. Now you come, in the hour you are least wanted, to call us to repentance?'
'I was there in that hour as well, Solran, though I was much older than you. I remember the proud words of our fathers, and the calamity they brought upon themselves in that day. I remember my own proud words,' Rahdmus stopped and his eyes looked upon the stone floor. 'We were all fools in that day, and your rage might just as well be brought against your own father as against me. If I have been the downfall of the mighty kingdom of Falruvis, then it is only because he was the downfall of us all first.'
After he had said this he knelt down on the stone floor and hung his head low, 'You may strike me down, if you so desire, son of Lorvis, I am no longer afraid of death.'
There was a great silence following his words. But at length Solran said to him, 'Rise, thou slayer of kin! I will not have my hands dirtied with thy blood. Go now, and I put this curse upon thee: Even as thou hast come to offer us release, so do I release thee from death. Let no elven hand be set against thee, not in this world or in any other. Let thy bones grow thin and frail and your heart weary, but let no rest be granted to thee. A liar thou art; let all others lie to thee. I curse you with all the hatred of the undying ones forever.'
Almost before he had finished speaking, we were bound once more and our eyes were covered. I laughed within myself as I saw, ere they covered my eyes, the great care and attention that was given to Rahdmus' bindings. These elven lords, ancient of years, shook their heads in confusion as they looked from their new knots to the pile of rope from their previous work. The thought came to me, and my heart felt heavy as I thought it, 'These Ancients, who for so many ages have lived and walked the earth, are no more the wiser for it. Much have they learned, but still, little do they understand for all of their labors. T
hey were still not willing to admit of the Power that loosed their captive from his bonds.'
Our return was much the same as our arrival. The elves gave us a torch for our journey through the caverns, a gift born out of their haste to see us depart and not out of kindness. The caves we traversed in silence, only speaking when the hazards of the road required it.
When we had returned at last to those narrower tunnels Rahdmus turned abruptly north and led us out of the cavern through a different path. The path began to ascend and as we walked the air steadily grew lighter and cooler. Almost at once the hall grew light, the walls themselves fell behind us and we were thrust out into the light, high in a mountain pass. 'It is by this very road,' Rahdmus explained, 'that Solruvis, his son Lorvis, and a great multitude of elven warriors passed into the north, marching to the rescue of their kin in Dadron. But it was to no avail, for the powers that worked against them were greater than they could have imagined. The Argent elves were broken, the only remnant now lives in the hidden vale in Solsis, from which we have just come. But they shall not long survive the fate that is soon to befall the whole world.'
'What do you mean? What fate?' I asked, greatly troubled by his words.
'For now I am not permitted to say more than this, the world will change, and those who are not prepared will be swept away. For the Argent elves, my coming was their final chance to regain their honor and virtue. Now they have nothing to do but to wait for the end.'
Unable to get any clearer notion of his meaning I fell once more to silence. He led us higher into the mountains along a broad, but perilous path, finally wrapping around a great peak. There we saw the sun in its full glory, rising above a land I had never seen. The whole vale of Falsis appeared before us, revealed by morning light. In the distance, through the clear mountain air, I could see a glowing speck of light atop a distant hill. How many leagues lay between it and us I could not tell, for distance is illusive in the mountains. But it seemed as if a pillar of fire rose from the the center of the valley.
