The Lost City (The Lost Prophecy Book 5)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Mine is a positively charged teralin blade. There is power to it, much like there is power to your blade, but there is something unique—and special—about your sword. I would not claim to have the same quality to mine, though there is no reason for me to do so.”

  “If it’s not teralin, what else would it be made from?”

  “Does it matter? What matters with the sword is less what the blade is constructed from, and more about the wielder himself. Having seen you, I have little doubt that you wield that sword well.”

  “It was made for someone without any abilities.”

  “Are you so certain?”

  Jakob smiled, sniffing softly. “I have had a vision of my great father, Niall. I saw when he was gifted this blade.”

  “And you assume that because Niall was gifted that blade first, he was the only person who was ever meant to wield it? A sword like that would always outlive its owner. Even when you’re gone, another will come along, and another will hold it. Who is to say that it was not forged for you, or for someone who comes after you?” Endric took his blade and sheathed it. He glanced over his shoulder at the sword hanging on the wall behind him. “Even my father’s sword outlasted him. For me, it is little more than ornamentation. For someone else, Trill will be a great weapon.”

  Jakob suspected he could find the answer to the making of his sword, and that he could walk back along the fibers, and observe the creation of it, but maybe Endric was right about that. What did it matter what the sword was made from? The blade held power in ways that teralin did not.

  “Novan thinks that the Deshmahne seek access to more teralin,” Jakob said.

  “Wars have been fought over teralin before.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Endric shrugged. “That was centuries ago. It’s the reason the Magi claimed it as theirs, and for many years, they were the only ones allowed to handle it. The metal is dangerous, though whether that is because of the person who wields it, or the metal itself, I don’t know.”

  “Won’t Raime seek more?”

  Endric sighed. “There are several deposits in the south lands that he might already have discovered. I suspect that is why he started there first, gaining his foothold, getting access to resources.”

  “Why is that important?”

  “For reasons that are both stranger and more mundane than you would ever imagine. For reasons that I overlooked for too long.”

  “What reasons are those?”

  “You’ve seen how Raime steals power from those who possess it.”

  Jakob nodded. “I have met a Mage who lost her ability because of him.”

  “There are many Magi in Vasha who lost their abilities to the Deshmahne. But it’s not only the Magi he steals from.”

  “I’ve already told you that I’m aware of his stealing from the daneamiin.”

  “The daneamiin, and the groeliin. I didn’t realize he commanded the groeliin until it was too late. I suspected, as did many on the Conclave, but what could we do about it without risking the lives of those who already fought as much as they could? We should have recognized the connection to teralin, but we failed. I failed.”

  “What do the groeliin have to do with teralin? Other than Raime using it to force his brands, why would it matter?”

  “The groeliin feed on darkness, and dark power. That’s something that has been hidden from the Antrilii for years, something they have tried to ignore for long enough. There have been those who attempted to share with them, to warn them of this, but pride prevented them from seeing it.”

  “Seeing what?”

  Endric shook his head, a slight movement, but enough that he appeared to have a hint of agitation. “The groeliin require negatively charged teralin to breed.”

  Jakob frowned. “To breed?”

  “Normally, the breeding seasons are staggered, separated by enough time for them to find new deposits of teralin, and charge it in such a way that it will be effective. Those breeding seasons have escalated, which is why the horde made its way south in such numbers.”

  “And what does this have to do with Raime?”

  “I suspect this has everything to do with Raime. The Antrilii have never managed to completely exterminate the groeliin. They have fought, and they have hunted, but they have never completely eradicated them. Most of the Antrilii long for the day when they will finally be able to stop fighting. They look forward to a time when they can finally share the peace the Urmahne preach, but until that time, they follow a different path, one they feel was required of them by the gods long ago.”

  “How much teralin is in the north?”

  Endric smiled grimly. “Now you’re beginning to think, Jakob. There shouldn’t be as much teralin as there seems to be. Those who know such things, those who can detect the deposits, have never felt that the northern mountain range carried all that much teralin. Then again, the northern mountains are extensive, and not completely explored. That’s the reason the groeliin have managed to hide as long as they have.”

  “But you think Raime has something to do with this. Was he bringing teralin to the north, using it on the groeliin in some way?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve heard no rumors of movement of such size as would be required to transport as much metal as the groeliin would need for their breeding. But it’s possible that they have found a way to conceal it. It wouldn’t be the first time that Raime has managed to conceal things from the Conclave. He has survived for over a thousand years, drawing strength and power from others, and has become something other than a man, and something much more than a Mage. It’s possible that with all that he has gained, and as twisted as he has become, that he could conceal his movements, and could conceal the transportation of negatively charged teralin.”

  Jakob sat back in the chair, clasping his hands together. He had questions about the groeliin, and the answers that Endric knew were nothing like what he had expected. Now, more than ever, he suspected what he needed to do next.

  Somehow, he had to travel north, seek out the groeliin, and find answers. Only by doing that, could he discover where Raime was headed, and finally defeat the High Priest for good.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jakob inhaled deeply, smelling the sharp, almost bitter scent of the interior of the mineshaft. He had shifted here, bringing Anda with him, traveling so that he could discover more about the teralin before he departed the city and went north. The entire mine had a heat to it, a sense of almost unnatural warmth that radiated, filling the cavern with heat. He had never experienced anything quite like this.

  “Is there teralin in the daneamiin lands?” Jakob asked Anda.

  Her face was unreadable, and she had removed the glamour, no longer trying to conceal her features. Deep within the mountain beneath Vasha, there was no need for her to hide and no need for her to be anything other than daneamiin.

  “We have nothing quite like this.”

  “Endric thinks that teralin is a part of creation.”

  Anda touched the wall, trailing her fingers along the warm surface. The tunnels were slightly irregular, not smooth stone carved from the mountain itself like the palace overhead. These were mined by men and carried with them the appearance of that.

  “Everything is a part of creation. This metal is as much a part of creation as the forest in my lands.”

  “What about the pool?”

  Anda smiled. “You have detected something unique about the pool?”

  “I detected the power that is present there. The ahmaean seems focused there, more focused than in other parts of the forest. I thought the trees and the house of the Cala maah would be the focus of ahmaean in your lands, but that didn’t seem to be the case.”

  “Why would you expect otherwise? Water supports life, and the water feed the trees, and the grasses, and provides nourishment for the people. It should not be surprising that water is what gives the daneamiin power.”

  They stopped in a large chamber. Alcoves
were carved into the stone, and though they were empty, it appeared that they had once stored many items here. Heat radiated from the walls the same as it did in other places within the mine, but there was a slightly lessened sense of it here. Jakob pushed out his ahmaean, sending it into the teralin within the walls, and detected a surge of power in response. The walls took on a faint glow, the pale yellow light that reminded him of when Novan used his staff.

  Alriyn had described the difference between the polarities of teralin but had only had positively charged teralin to demonstrate. Jakob had seen Deshmahne swords, and knew the negatively charged teralin that they used, but didn’t know whether there was anything more to it, anything that he should try to understand better.

  “I wonder why teralin collects and holds ahmaean,” Jakob said.

  “Ahmaean cannot be contained, Jakob Nialsen. It can be transferred, but while water supports life, ahmaean is what gives life, gives power. Ahmaean is the purest representation of what the Maker has given.”

  Jakob withdrew his ahmaean, pulling it back and away from the walls.

  “What did you hope to see here?” Anda asked.

  Jakob sighed. “I wanted to understand what the conflict was about. Endric shared with me that the Deshmahne had invaded Vasha before, that they were after something stored here.”

  “Raime needed access to power,” Endric said, stepping out of the shadows.

  Jakob turned to him. He hadn’t detected Endric’s presence and was impressed that the general was able to reach the chamber as easily as he was. There must be some connection from up above that made it so that Endric had an easier way to travel here.

  Endric bowed to Anda. “Your presence warms me, daneamiin.”

  “Your presence warms me as well, warrior.”

  Jakob glanced from Endric to Anda. “How did you know we were going to be here?”

  “It’s my business to know and anticipate what might happen. I suspected that you would have questions about teralin and that you would come here searching for answers.”

  “What do you mean that Raime needed access to power?”

  “Vasha has long stored items of power,” Endric began. “Ever since the city served as a home to the damahne, it stored power. When the damahne departed, the city in ruins, many of those artifacts remained here, using the power of the mountain itself to conceal them.”

  “How would the mountain conceal them?”

  “That is one of teralin’s abilities. With that metal, much can be concealed from even the damahne. I suspect the damahne used that particular feature of the metal to prevent their particular form of traveling.”

  Not only did the metal shield things, but it would prevent shifting? “Did the Magi know the items were stored here?” Jakob asked.

  “Not at first. When they discovered their existence, the Conclave made certain to provide additional protection to conceal them. Unfortunately, Raime has long sought items of power. I suspect that he somehow discovered that the artifacts were being hidden here, and that is why he pursued them.”

  “What kind of artifacts?”

  “The kind that would allow him to steal from one of the damahne. He would not be able to simply place brands, not the same way he did with the Magi or even with the daneamiin. For him to steal from one of the greater beings, he would need a stronger connection. He would need something that would provide an augmentation of the dark energy he intended to use.”

  Jakob glanced around and considered the alcoves. Had the damahne stored items made from charged teralin? Why would they have left them here? “Teralin?”

  Endric nodded slowly. “The damahne have not always lived the peaceful life they demand of others. There has been unfortunate violence throughout their history.” Endric studied Anda for a moment and smiled sadly. “I’m sorry to have to be the one to share that with you, daneamiin. The artifacts that were stored here were created with a different intent, one that allowed the damahne to force the transfer of power to another.”

  “Why would they need something like that?”

  “Need? There was never a need. There was always fear. The damahne have feared the unknown and feared anything that might unsettle what they considered a balance. They were willing to do anything to maintain that balance.”

  Would Jakob be able to confirm that by walking back along the fibers? The damahne he had visited had never had any sense of violence about them, and there had never been a sense that they would be willing to attack another of their kind, but they also had demonstrated a strong desire to maintain the way things had been. Even Shoren—considered by the damahne to be one of the greatest of them—had struggled with the idea of Jakob using a sword. To Shoren, the damahne simply did not do such things.

  “Are you aware that Raime managed to acquire an artifact that would allow him to steal from Alyta? Did that come from here?”

  “I was aware that something had been stolen from here. I tried to protect it by closing the mines and thought that I had, but I didn’t anticipate the Deshmahne influencing and infiltrating the Magi as quickly as they did. Even I can make mistakes, Jakob. The key is to learn from them, and not let them prevent you from doing what you must the next time you have to make a decision.”

  “Had we not managed to break into the Tower when we did, he would have succeeded.”

  “Had you not managed to reach Alyta, much more than her life would have been lost. Imagine how hard it would have been for you to begin to understand what you’re capable of doing. Without her awakening that part of you, what would it have taken for you to discover the connection that you have, a part of you that you were not aware of before you met her?”

  Anda took his hand and squeezed it. Her ahmaean swirled around him. “In time, you would have discovered your connection. You were well on your way to understanding that when you came to our lands. Had you not, I don’t think I would’ve been able to help you cross the Valley.”

  “You knew, even then?” Jakob asked.

  “The Cala maah suspected. You would not have had the visions you did if you had not the potential you do. I think Aruhn knew that, and that is why he asked me to escort you across the Valley.”

  Jakob smiled to himself. “And here you claim not to have any ability to peer forward along the fibers.”

  “We do not, but we recognize signs, the same as the warrior here. When all signs point in a particular direction, the answer is clear. Isn’t that so, warrior?” Anda asked Endric.

  He nodded once. “Sometimes, decisions are easy, and others are less so. I may not be able to teach you how to look forward along the fibers, and separate out what you need to know, but I can help you recognize where your efforts should focus. For the most part, it’s a matter of synthesizing the information that comes to you. And you have the advantage over me. With your damahne ability, you can travel places and discover information firsthand that I must wait for and hear through messengers.”

  “You don’t think I should go after Raime?”

  “I think you will need to go after him, and I think that you are the only one who can successfully stop him, but I also believe that Raime is a master strategist, and stopping him will not be a simple matter of looking along the fibers and seeing where he might be so that you can be there as well. Stopping him will require preventing plans that he has laid, forcing him to make a decision that he would not otherwise make.”

  “I don’t know Raime well enough to know what decisions he might not make,” Jakob said.

  “Perhaps not yet, but you have the advantage in that you can look back, and you can search for trends. And there is another thing, one that Raime has often overlooked, something that I doubt he ever fully understood.”

  “What is that?”

  “You won’t be fighting alone.” Endric smiled, gripping the hilt of his sword. “The Conclave fights with you, and after the last Deshmahne attack, he has motivated the Magi to fight. He made a mistake in mobilizing when he did, or perhaps his mistake
was not acting swiftly enough. Either way, Raime has made a mistake. That is uncommon enough for him that we must take advantage now, or he will regain the necessary strength to mount another attack.”

  “I fear that he already has gained that strength,” Jakob said.

  “If he had, we would have heard word of him, wouldn’t we?” Endric asked.

  “Do we ever hear word of him?” Jakob said. “The only way that I knew he was attempting to use the fibers, to draw power from there, was because I was trying to understand my own ability. Had I not gone back, and had I not seen what he was doing, I doubt that I would have recognized the way that he drew power from those in the past.”

  “I didn’t realize that was possible.”

  “With Raime, I suspect many things are possible that we once would have said were not,” Anda said.

  “Such as changing the past?” Jakob asked.

  Anda looked at him, concern etched in her exotic eyes. He’d spent enough time with her to recognize the expression. “It is not possible to change the past.”

  “That’s been the belief… up until now,” Jakob said. “But what if Raime has discovered some way that he can? What if he has uncovered a secret, some way to influence the fibers that changes things?”

  That was one thing Jakob feared—everyone would fear—but would they even know if it happened? If the fibers were changed, how would they know?

  Jakob wasn’t certain that the fibers could be changed, and believed that the others who came before him knew and understood the fibers better than he did, but Raime changed things. He not only challenged their understanding of what was possible, but he also forced a different reaction from them.

  “So you would discourage me from going north. But what are you suggesting I do instead? How do I find Raime?”

  “First, you have to accept help. You now have the Conclave. Even in the north, there are the Antrilii. They hunt the groeliin, and have done so for centuries.”