The Punishment Of The Gods (Omnibus 1-5)

by Jake Yaniak

  'For one who was once our enemy, you seem to have a great deal of respect for our people,' Daryas said.

  'It is only for an enemy, properly so called, that one can have such respect. One may derive a certain honor from having such a good man as a friend, but you can only truly see eye to eye when you stand in opposition. Then you can see that for all your darkness, there is light within them. For all your weakness there is strength. For all your evil, they possess a righteousness in opposition. Of course, when it was that I was full of darkness, my own blindness bade me consider the righteousness of Galvahir to be folly.'

  The two travelers in time came to the fields of Golbfein, where the king of Almaman had long ago made a name for himself. From there they passed into the west toward Heyan. But ere they drew near enough to distinguish any one tree from its neighbor, they turned sharply toward the south and made their way past Ram-u-Nar.

  When they had passed that land, Radhmus laughed and shook his head. 'Never would I have thought that my deeds would not only fail to destroy Galvahir, but that they would bring that mighty army into the very land I intended to lead to victory against them!'

  After several days of riding in the wilderness they came to the place where Daryas and his brother had found the dying Queen of Amlaman, who had entreated Daryas to seek out and help her daughter. There they camped for the night, intending to make the rest of the journey in the morning. 'Have you a plan, Daryas?' Rahdmus asked, his voice seeming to silence all the sounds of the night. Daryas' heart sunk, and he looked to the ground. 'Do you have any idea what you are going to do, when you get to the mountain?'

  After a long pause he answered, 'No. I have not the faintest notion of what will come to pass. Nevertheless, I am resolved to find my fate, or doom, or destiny, or whichever so happens to wait for me, upon that mountain and in that valley.'

  'It would be wise, son of Biron, to give this matter some thought ere we descend into the enemy's holiest place, to steal that which the enemy loves most dearly.'

  Daryas looked up at him with wide eyes.

  'You must know,' Rahdmus said, 'that the King of Amlaman also seeks this prize; and he is not one to give up on his pursuit.'

  'Why, if he be king, can he not simply reach out his hand and take her to him?'

  'That is a mystery,' Rahdmus answered, 'the solution of which lies under the shadow of the future. From the moment the crown was placed upon his head, he had the right and power to take that which he desired above all other things.'

  'What could have happened then?'

  'Something prevents him, but what that is I do not know.'

  The name of Evna passed into Daryas' mind, and his heart rose a little, knowing that the devil who tormented his days had also the effect of keeping his fierce rival away from the Princess. But from that moment, Daryas became uneasy, and wished only to get to sleep.

  'What of our plan?' Rahdmus said with great concern.

  'On the morrow,' Daryas said as he rolled onto his side and shut his eyes tight.

  That night, when it was Daryas' turn to keep watch, he beheld from a distance a wisp of smoke, rising from the southeast. 'Any number of things it might be,' he thought to himself. Most likely it is some hermit, lighting his stove, or some hunters stoking the flame of their campfire.' But his reasons could not prevent him from feeling ill at ease. In the end, he resolved to depart into the south with haste, seeking his destiny alone. He called Rahdmus' name, thinking it would be foolish to go to the Nunnery alone. But when Rahdmus responded not, Daryas was not willing to try again to wake him. 'So it must be,' he told himself. Novai rode into the south swiftly and quietly, making little more noise than a deer.

  Dynamis and the Wolves

  Almost the moment Dynamis and his band had begun their ascent into the wilderness surrounding Sten-Agoni they noticed a deep quiet. 'The mountain is calm,' Forge said warily. 'But yet I feel ill at ease.'

  'There is not a beast or bird within a league,' Revere said, looking around with fear in his eyes. He had never found such things to be frightening before, but before he had only known of things that were dangerous to the body. 'There is something dark here,' he said. Such words still felt strange on his lips.

  'We must have a care in these lands,' Dynamis said. 'The mountain is quiet, but it is not at peace.'

  He had no need for an explanation, for all his fellows felt the same unease, not as though nothing at all were happening, but as though everything that was happening was somehow beyond them.

  They had barely begun their way into the wilds before one of his men said that he felt as though he were being followed. The others looked around uneasily, their eyes wide with fear. Dynamis was just about to reprimand his companion for raising their fear, but at the moment he opened his mouth to speak he felt the same. It was as though a cold wind blew upon them from every which way. But nothing stirred among the trees or bushes. With armor and sword he yet felt as if he were naked before a hundred hateful eyes. 'We are Galvahirne,' he said, loosening his sword in its hilt. 'Proceed.'

  'I am not Galvahirne,' Revere whispered to himself. But then he felt ashamed. 'But I am of the line of Lord Proud, servant of the Magic Tower,' he assured himself. But reminding him of the glory of his ancestors did very little to make him, their descendant, feel any braver.

  They continued on in this way for several hours, slowly making their way south east toward the Nunnery of Agonistes. Suddenly Dynamis turned, his cloak swinging about in a great whirl of color. His sword was drawn, his companions saw; they followed his suit, drawing their weapons almost in unison. The air was still for almost five minutes, just long enough for some of them to lower their watchfulness. They had stood like statues, poised to attack at any moment. But the moment one of them lowered their weapons a wolf sprang from behind a tree, bringing one of the Galvahirne to the ground. He was dead in an instant, as three more wolves rushed from the growing darkness and torn him limb from limb.

  'Wolves!' Forge said, cutting one clean in half with one smooth stroke of his enormous blade.

  Dynamis dodged a wolf and struck off its hind legs as it bounded past him.

  'What I wouldn't give for a Firesling!' one of the Galvahirne said frustratedly.

  'No,' Dynamis commanded. The noise of the Lapulian weapons would carry the news of their coming straight to the temple of Agonistes itself. 'These wolves would not fear such things, if they do not fear a band of armed Galvahirne.'

  Seven more wolves rushed in, bringing another of the Galvahirne to the ground. He fought them with all his might, but they were two swift for him. Another wolf rushed in and knocked Revere to the ground. The beast went to clench its teeth about his throat, but Revere's blade was too quick, piercing the animal's eye before it's jaws reached their mark. All the might of the animal seemed to blow away in the wind and its bulk fell aside in a heap. Dynamis rushed toward him with worry on his face. 'Are you alright, friend?' he said, his hand outstretched.

  Revere looked around for a moment before he realized that it was to him that the Cheftirne had spoken. Nobody had ever called him friend. He took the Galvahirne's hand and rose to his feet. He turned away from the other man's gaze and brushed the dirt from his cloak. Looking up again he saw a great black shape approaching in the gloom, red eyes glowing in the night. He pushed Dynamis aside and rolled out of the way in the opposite direction. He threw his knife quickly, but the shape darted aside as though it were made out of wind and not flesh. A hundred howls rose up in the night, as if to announce the coming of a king.

  The creature charged Dynamis again, but the Galvahirne turned aside quickly and slashed at it, cutting its side. 'So you are not a devil,' he said, 'but flesh and blood.'

  A chill came over Dynamis, as if the creature had somehow responded, saying, 'And yet also a devil.' But there was no voice, not even a growl from the dark beast. The monster charged again, and it was all that Dynamis could to do run out of the way. The other wolves had ceased their attacks and now stood a
t a distance from the Galvahirne as if to watch the contest from afar. The Galvahirne unwittingly fell into the same habit, each watching but not daring to interfere, lest they accidentally harm their lord. Revere pulled his knife from the dirt where he had cast it, bewildered by the speed of the demon.

  Dynamis circled the animal, unable to look anywhere but into the wolf's glowing red eyes. It occurred to him as he stared at the monster that it was not hunger or fear in the creature's eyes, but hate and, he thought, perhaps envy. He held his sword up and said in a resigned voice, 'I mean only to aid my brother.' Something in that last word seemed to have shaken the animal for a moment. The wolf blinked, its eyes vanishing for a moment, and pushed back on its paws as if startled. This was all that Dynamis needed to make his attack. His stroke fell upon the wolf, cutting a deep gash into its head. One of the beast's ears fell to the ground in a bloody mess. The dark creature looked at it for a moment and a voice seemed to rise up from the very earth itself, saying, 'Brother, you have the ears of a wolf.' The wolf looked once more at Dynamis, or at his sword rather. His eyes seemed to flash between rage, hatred and sadness. In a flash the beast was gone, leaving a trail of dark red blood upon the ground. Only two of the Galvahirne had been killed, though most of them now carried a number of scratches, gashes and bites upon their flesh. 'Set a fire,' Dynamis commanded, 'although I do not know that it will do us any good as a ward against devils.'

  'There is something strange happening in this land,' Forge said, sniffing the air.

  They hastily buried their dead, digging two shallow graves by torchlight. 'Set a mark upon them,' Dynamis ordered. 'They shall be brought back to Noras when all is finished.'

  He sat down beside the fire and shut his eyes. 'Why should two die for one?' he asked, wondering if he had been selfish endangering all these men for his fool brother's sake. But he knew even as he thought it that, if it were his beloved, he would be the one acting the fool. 'Still,' he thought to himself, 'Daryas has always had a proclivity for finding trouble.' All trouble was inconvenient, but Daryas always seemed to find the most inconvenient trouble available. This latter thought brought many memories to his mind.

  Thinking back Dynamis thought he could remember seeing this very wolf on the day his brother first went to the Nunnery, following after that madwoman's words. Twice now it had fled from him; but on both occasions it seemed to have been his sword that had attracted the beast's attention. He drew his blade, drawing many wary eyes from his companions. 'It is nothing,' he reassured them. Nonetheless they looked out into the darkness cautiously.

  There was a strange script on the hilt of the sword. It resembled the writing of the elves, which he had learned in Lapulia several years ago. But the words it formed were not like anything he had ever encountered. It did not even resemble the ancient writings that were to be found in Dadron, where the oldest of the elves had ruled for thousands of years.

  'Who was that man?' he asked himself, marveling that the Conjuror from whom he had taken the sword should have such a strange relic.

  Fire On the Mountain

  King Volthamir came to Sten Agoni on the first day of Indest. There were sacrifices being offered that day, and the air was heavy with the aroma of burning fat and cooking meat. But Volthamir passed these by, turning his attention to the north. He looked out upon the ocean of trees that lay beyond the small hill of Daufina. He knew the Nunnery was in that valley. 'There you lie, my love, still reigning over your own little country, and the devil within will not permit me to pass. Nonetheless, if you will not come to me, I will return for your insults such fierce compensation that never again will the name of Aganthos be maligned!' By this point in his reign he answered to no other name than that which had been given him by his mother.

  Altogether he had summoned nearly three thousand warriors to the mountain in addition to the usual guards. These were positioned along the southern slopes of Daufina and atop the the ridge of Altola, which overlooks the Nunnery from the east. It is from thence that the stream that feeds the Nunnery's pools originates. All of these warriors were placed under the command of Fanastos, who was ordered to slay without interrogation any who should approach the mountain.

  Such madness these orders must have seemed to those who see only the work of man in the world. But when the rivalry of Agonistes and Pelas is considered, it is to be expected that such precautions be taken. The last time Amlaman waged open war against the Noras, the Temple of Agon itself was burned with fire, though no fire could wholly consume those white stones of which it was built. Those stones were quarried from the same secret place from which the stones that adorn Pelas' Temple in Dadron were acquired, and they were as strong as they were beautiful.

  Though he shunned his counsel in all other matters, Agonistes was able to convince Volthamir that it would not be long ere the Noras made an attempt against the Temple of Agonistes, which, to them, represented the most ancient of evils.

  'Far be it from me to allow some woodsmen to have that which I am denied,' he said to himself, thinking of the ancient days, when the Noras heroes took for themselves wives out of the Nunnery of Agonistes and set fire to the Temple.

  On the fifteenth day of the month, he took fire from the temple and lit a great bonfire on the lawn just outside the temple. He took an arrow in his hand, wrapped the end tightly in a bright white strip of cloth, dipped it in oil and, taking the flame of the bonfire, he set the arrow to his bow and sent it flying into the woods, where it instantly burst into a great burning flame. The heat of Indest seemed to have as much to do with his success as the oil. Within a few minutes it was crawling further into the woods, leaping up trees here and crowning whole portions of the forest with leaping tongues of fire.

  The Temple itself was set quite a distance from the woods, sufficient to ensure that no flame could be spread to it. Slowly the fire spread, sinking into the valley inch by inch. 'Let us see that devil send the Fire of Agonistes back to Sten Agoni without effect,' Volthamir said with great pride.

  Chapter VI:

  The River Meretris

  Lutrosis

  'My son, my son,' Daryas could hear his father say, 'Pay heed to my wisdom, and turn your head in the direction of prudence. There are higher things in this world than stones and trees, and wiser things than brutes and beasts. These are the better things, and those with which we ought to concern ourselves. Not the animal nature, which roams in pursuit of food or pleasure. We are made to contemplate the stars. Do not give in to that part of you that still remains an animal. The animal part of us is necessary as long as we live, but it is the only part of us that perishes. Feed the mind, first, my son, and give heed to the pangs of the stomach only after your mind has had its fill. One half of Prudence, my son, is seeing wherein the good lies, and not forgetting to seek it in all that you do. The second part of Prudence is to know what is evil and hide your face from it.'

  A vision arose in his mind, of a time when his father had warned him against climbing atop a certain stone. But his curiosity got the better of him and he ascended despite his father's remonstrances. He fell to the ground, and hit his head upon a stone just as a much greater stone fell an inch shy of his head. 'Fortunate you are!' his father cried out as he carried him to Peiraso. 'Blessed you are!' his mother announced.

  But in his heart he said, 'A sickness lies within me, for I know what is wise, but I do not do it.'

  As he now descended alone into the land of Agonistes, he recalled this event and many like circumstances. Finally, he cursed himself and smote his chest saying, 'How wicked can a man be? How dark can the heart be, that I am esteemed a good man and even a hero?'

  'Your fault, Daryas,' the voice of Lutrosis said, breaking at last his long silence, 'your fault, I say, lies not in your deeds, but in your thoughts.'

  'True enough,' Daryas replied, his heart sinking at the sound of his tormentor's voice. 'I am too great a coward to sin; for I am more prideful than I am concupiscient!'

  'You call yourself a s
inner? On what account, Daryas? Against whom have you sinned?'

  'Against whom have I not sinned? Who could look within me without disgust? Many can pass me by on the street or in the forest, nodding as they go by, but none of them can see what passes within my soul, yet all of them would curse me if they knew how frequently I think ill of them, envy them, hate them, curse them. I nod and they nod, and we pretend we are all good and contented. Perhaps they are good and perhaps they are contented, but I can never be satisfied with myself.'

  'You fear too many gods, Daryas, in that you call yourself such a vile sinner. Take them away from your thoughts and you will find rest for your conscience.'

  'Yet, whose conscience can ever rest in such a world as this? Even should I deny all spirits and all order, yet it remains that within me is a law and an order, and I cannot escape it. I am as unworthy in my own sight as I am in the sight of the Eternal, unwavering judge. If I say that I know what good is, then I am evil, for I live up to no such law. If I say that I know not, then I am also evil, for who can be called good when they are so by accident only? The lord of heaven and the empty void of night alike conspire against my soul, condemning me at every turn. I am condemned by God perhaps, but I am at least condemned by myself. Every man charges this one with evil and that one with good; in so doing they make themselves judge of what is good and evil. Shall I, then, as judge, transgress my own law and escape the pit? My conscience neither rests nor acquits.'

  'There is no such Eternal Judge, Daryas,' Lutrosis said with sincerity. 'It is a fable of half-goblins, who cannot see the world as it is; full of hate and death, but also much to enjoy ere the end comes upon us. Why should we not seek what is good then, rather than what we know is not true.'

  'You say there is no judge,' Daryas laughed. 'For all that I know you may speak the truth. But, I am wise enough also to know that you have neither ascended to the heavens, nor descended to the depths of the sea to search out whether or not there is a judge or a world to come. If I know naught of that world to come it may as easily be because of my weakness of knowledge, and not for its emptiness. Tempt me however you like, brute, but you shall never drive me to deny that which I have no right to deny. Does not the hawk see further than man? Do we do wisely then, when we deny what lies beyond our sight?