by Thomas Rath
Thane glanced at Jne who seemed completely contented in remaining silent and glaring at anything that caught her eye. “The Underwoods have emptied. We saw them. Their numbers are enormous. They must have stretched out a good quarter mile across the front and at least a mile down the line.”
Jack leaned back, reaching up to pull on his beard. “So he’s gathered the orcs too, then.”
“Unless there’s something about this city I haven’t seen,” Thane said, leaning forward even more, “we need to get these people away, and do it now.”
Jack nodded absently, his face paling slightly. He was not afraid of a fight. He’d been fighting trolls in the Shadow Mountains for years, but this was beyond anything he’d ever seen. He knew the city couldn’t hold, but he also knew what they were up against amongst their own. Myles had been given his orders, and like a true soldier, he’d follow them even though he knew better than anyone else the futility of trying to defend Haykon against such a horde.
“We can’t,” he finally said, leveling his eyes on Thane. “It’s no use arguing about it either,” he quickly added, as he saw Thane open his mouth to rebut. “It’s by order of the king. And Colonel Braxton, the one in charge here, won’t go against an order.”
Thane couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “But all of these people will be slaughtered!”
Jack nodded slightly. “We’ve walled off the pass, hoping to hold them back there.” He sighed. “It’s our best chance, but I’m afraid it won’t hold, especially with a dragon lapping up scraps from Bedler’s table.”
Thane looked down for a moment. This was the moment he’d been dreading. He was no longer ashamed of who he was or what his gifts allowed him to do, but he didn’t want to see fear in Jack’s or Tam’s eyes when he told them. He hoped they’d accept it as easily as Jne but felt they might not. “I killed it,” he finally said.
“What?” both Tam and Jack said in unison.
“How is that possible?” Tam asked.
Thane looked at her, his eyes searching hers for the understanding he hoped he’d find there. His feelings for her had completely overtaken him since finding her again and he feared she’d not reciprocate those feelings should she know everything about him. But she had to know. They could not truly have a relationship otherwise. It had been a shock to him to hear himself confessing his love to her when she’d done the same but he now realized that his feelings had always been strong for her. Down deep, when he and Dor had chided each other over whom Tam liked, he knew that he always secretly wished it were him. Now he knew, and he was going to test that love with what he was about to say.
“I used my Tane.”
Jack sat back slightly at Thane’s revelation while Tam just stared at him. “So the stories are true then,” Jack breathed, half to himself.
Thane shrugged. “I guess they are.”
Tam was still staring at him. “But how is that possible?”
Thane wanted to reach out and touch her, soothe her and make her understand that he was still the same person, but he restrained himself. She had to reach that conclusion on her own. “Do you remember the time the wolgs attacked our village?”
“Wolgs?” she asked, the name foreign to her ears.
“The giant wolfs.”
Her face brightened for a moment in understanding and then darkened again.
This was it. He pressed on. “Do you remember the one I killed that was attacking my father?”
She nodded and then suddenly her eyes got big. “You can throw fire.”
He shrugged. “Yes and no. It’s not like that. It’s more like pulling fire out of them like you would a piece of dead wood.”
“But how is that possible when they’re alive?” she asked, her voice still laced with shock.
Thane felt his heart suddenly crushing in pain. She wasn’t going to accept him. “It has to do with the fact that I have all five Tane. I have expanded powers that come with each one. I haven’t discovered them all yet, they tend to manifest themselves when I’m under stress or have a great need.” He watched her for any kind of reaction that might clue him in as to how she felt but for the moment, all that registered was shock.
“This is great!” Jack suddenly said, pulling Thane’s eyes away from Tam and forcing them back on him.
“What?” he asked, unsure of what he meant.
Jack leaned forward again. “You, and the power you have. This is what we need to defeat Bedler’s army. You can just wipe them all out in one stroke.”
Thane looked at Jne and then dropped his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t.”
Jack’s sudden joy quickly melted away with his declaration. “What? Why not?”
“I better finish my story first,” he answered. “Then it will all be made clear.” He continued on about how he’d defeated the dragon but almost died in the process, losing his memory as he’d done so. He covered it all. Waking up in the Tjal camp, deciding to become Tjal, the tests, everything. Jack and Tam sat in silence, clinging to his every word as he unfolded the story. Finally he got to the part about Gelfin and couldn’t hold back the tears as he remembered the experience. Looking briefly at Tam he saw the tears also running down her cheeks after he’d explained about Gelfin’s life and what he’d been through. Jack seemed a bit uncomfortable at the mention of the HuMan war, and how they’d almost wiped out the entire Chufa race.
When he finished, Jack looked downtrodden. “So you can’t kill them all.”
He shook his head.
Jack shrugged. “I guess it is a lot to ask of one person,” he smiled weakly trying to lighten the mood but failing in his attempt.
Thane smiled back but his was just as pitiful. “How did you find me?” he suddenly asked, breaking through everyone’s dark thoughts.
Jack’s smile was a little more genuine this time. “Well, when I heard that there were two Tjal in town asking for the Chufa prisoner, I figured one had to be you. I had almost the entire army out looking for you, checking inns and pubs to see if any had seen you. It actually didn’t take very long.”
“Thank the mother,” Tam said, smiling brightly at Thane.
Thane’s heart leaped at the obvious concern that was shining in her eyes and directed at him. So it hadn’t made a difference after all. She’d accepted him for who and what he was without reservation. No longer would he need to worry or question her heart. His breath caught in his chest at the revelation. The smile he returned was just as warm and genuine.
Suddenly, the door opened and two people in dark robes entered, making the room rather crowded. Ignoring everyone else, the one in front went quickly to Thane, kneeling down in front of him and grabbing his leg. Thane pulled back, not certain who the person was or his intentions. Jne’s cold stare broke from Tam to rest on the robed figure, the threat obvious.
Again, Jack had to intervene. “This is Bren,” he said motioning to the robed figure at Thane’s feet who was trying to examine his leg without much cooperation. “And this is Kat.” The other robed figure nodded at him excitedly, smiling widely.
“How does it feel?” Bren asked, still grabbing for his leg.
“How does what feel?” Thane asked. “And what do you think you’re doing?”
“Thane,” Jack offered, “this is Bren, the healer who fixed your leg.”
Thane stopped his struggling, finally allowing Bren to grab his leg and inspect it. “I’m sorry,” he offered. “Thank you.”
Bren seemed not to hear, digging his fingers in around Thane’s thigh where the night before an arrow had been. “You lost a lot of blood. How are you feeling? Have you eaten something?”
“Bren,” Kat interjected, “give him a chance to answer.”
Thane grabbed Bren’s arm. “Is it true? Are you really part Chufa?”
Bren’s head suddenly came up and he looked at Thane for the first time since coming into the room. Looking cautiously back at Jack he turned back to Thane and smiled weakly. “Who told you such a fable?” h
e asked, trying unsuccessfully to cover the tightness in his voice.
Thane understood. If he truly were as Dor had revealed him to be, then he’d not be anxious to share such a revelation with a HuMan standing by. As Dor had discovered at Hell’s End Station, HuMans were generally not ready to welcome Chufa in there midst.
Thane loosened his grip on Bren’s arm. “It’s all right,” he said softly. “Jack is a friend.”
Bren glanced back at the large man, not certain he fully believed Thane but also recognizing the fact that he seemed to know of Thane’s racial background and was not all that concerned about it. “Yes,” he finally said just above a whisper. “We are.”
Thane smiled. “I never would have thought it possible. But how have you lived on this side for so long without being caught?”
Bren reached up and absentmindedly rubbed the top of his scarred ear. “With caution and certain sacrifices.”
Thane’s eyes followed Bren’s hand and then widened in understanding. “You mean you cut them?”
Bren nodded. “Only when they reveal themselves. Our blood is not as pure as it once was; something we’ve been trying to remedy for quite some time now. But when one with stronger blood is born and manifests our ancestry, we make sure that mark is eliminated.
Thane caught the marked change in Jack’s demeanor. He could tell how repulsed his friend was at the lengths these people had gone to keep from being discovered by HuMans. Bren suddenly moved his hand to Thane’s ear, pulling the hair back so he could get a good look at it. “And you are the one that carries the five Tane?”
Thane felt a little uncomfortable at suddenly being the one holding all the attention. “Yes,” he said simply without the slightest apology in his voice.
“May we see the mark?” Kat asked excitedly.
Thane looked at her for a moment unsure of what she meant. Then it hit him. “You mean my TanIs?”
Kat’s eyes brightened. “Yes.”
He shrugged. He was not ashamed of his TanIs anymore but he didn’t like being on display either. Best get it over with quick, he figured. Lifting his pant leg he brought his leg up onto the cot revealing the mark of his Tane.
Both Kat and Bren gasped. Bren moved his hand down as if to touch it but then held back. Thane gave Tam a look as if begging for help but she just smiled back at him. “It’s just a TanIs like everyone else’s,” he finally said, pushing his pant leg down and dropping his foot back to the floor. “Tam has one too. Have you seen hers?”
“Yes,” Kat said as if bored with the thought.
“But yours is not like everyone else’s,” Bren said.
Thane looked at him and then shrugged. He was right, but his TanIs was only a mark. It did not make him who he was.
“Could you teach me something of the TehChao Tane? I have not been able to learn its gifts as of yet since there are none strong enough in it to teach me.”
Thane was taken back. “Teach you? What are you talking about?”
Bren glanced at Kat and then eyed the others quickly. “You don’t know? Dor has not talked with you yet?”
“Talked to me about what?” he asked. Then realizing his friend was still absent he asked, “Where is Dor? He said he was going to get you but he hasn’t returned.”
Bren stood and then sat down next to Tam. “I guess I should introduce myself first.”
Thane felt annoyed that his question hadn’t been answered. Where was Dor? “Jack already introduced you,” he said, his voice slightly revealing his irritation.
“Bren is the name I go by to HuMans. To my people, our people, I am BrenCheSagnVen.” Bren bowed his head slightly as if someone had just introduced them.
Thane’s eyes got wide. He looked at Kat. She smiled and bowed.
“I am KatSagnQen.”
Tam gasped and then asked the question that was forming in Thane’s mind. “You mean you both have more than one Tane?”
Bren shrugged. “Well, yes and no. We, like you, are born strongest in one, but over time we have learned the others.”
Thane couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You learned others?”
Bren nodded. “Yes. I see that you are surprised. Dor was also when we told him. In fact, I taught him to draw fire from wood.”
Thane was flabbergasted. “You taught Dor how to draw out fire?”
Bren nodded but his face suddenly showed concern. “Sort of. He threw up rather violently, and after only having produced a small spark. He said he’d never do it again, though.”
Thane was amazed. They actually had taught each other different Tane. It was beyond anything he’d ever thought of or would have even considered possible. But, then again, why not? Were not the Tane all connected? Even the TanIs taught that principle, each having four dots connected to it representing the other four Tane.
Still, to learn how to use another Tane? It didn’t seem quite natural. He caught himself in the thought. He had all five. If learning another was not natural then what did that make him? The idea of learning another Tane should really have been just a natural progression of their gifts. He suddenly thought of Gelfin, the evil one. That was why no one had ever considered it. They felt it was unnatural, and evil.
Bren interrupted his thoughts. “I do not see why it is so strange to you. I should be the one shocked that none of you have learned more than your birth Tane. It was not uncommon among our ancestors.”
“It wasn’t?” Tam asked.
“Of course not,” Bren answered. “It is only natural that we should do the same.”
“Can you throw fire, like Thane?” Jack suddenly asked, his voice a mixture of hope and disbelief.
Bren considered him for a moment and then looked at Thane with renewed excitement. “You have the fire gift of old?”
Thane felt a little embarrassed. No one had ever responded with excitement at what he could do. It was usually something more like fear or distaste. “I don’t throw it. It’s more like pulling it out, like when one would start a cook fire.”
Bren looked amazed. “And you have done this before?”
Thane nodded. “It almost killed me though.”
Bren nodded in agreement. “I am surprised it did not. Without an anchor, you risk your life to do such a thing.”
Thane’s head shot up. “You know of the anchors?”
Bren looked at Tam, whose face showed the confusion she was feeling about what he and Thane were saying, before he turned back to Thane. “Of course I know of the anchors. They are what make us what we are.”
Thane’s hand shot out and grabbed Bren’s arm. “Do you know if any more live?”
Bren’s face dropped as he shook his head. “As far as we know, they were all destroyed during the great war.”
Thane sighed. Gelfin’s words were running through his head again about being the chosen one, but from what he knew they were up against, he felt certain that it didn’t really matter if he were chosen or not. Without the anchors his powers were limited, at least the ones he felt would do any good.
“What’s an anchor?” Jack and Tam’s voiced joined together in asking the question.
Thane quickly explained all he’d been told about the Chufeiran trees glancing at Bren for confirmation as he did so, but Bren just nodded his agreement.
“So,” Tam started, clearly amazed, “with an anchor, Thane’s powers would be increased?”
Bren shook his head slightly. “Increased is not really the word. The Chufeiran are connected directly to the source of all the Tane, which comes from TerraMae. With an anchor, the Tane are stabilized. Their power is connected to their source. Without it, we are left to our own strength. The Tane then draws its power directly from us instead of its natural source.”
Jack pulled at his beard. “But you said that none of these anchors still live. So, they are useless to us.”
Bren nodded. “That is correct, as far as we know. And, to answer your original question, Master Jack,” Bren continued, “I cannot, ‘throw
fire’, as you said it. No one that I know of since Gelfin the great has had that gift and power.”
Thane’s breath caught. “You know of Gelfin?” His head was swimming. After all these long years his people had lived protected on the other side of the Shadow Mountains and they knew nothing of the possibilities their Tane offered nor the truth of who Gelfin was and what he’d sacrificed. Yes, their blood still remained strong and pure but their character and morality, along with their knowledge, had withered and decayed.
Bren’s forehead creased with concern. “Of course I know of Gelfin. All Chufa are taught of Gelfin. Is it not so with those of you who escaped?”
Thane shook his head. “I’m afraid that his name and his story have been forgotten.”
“But if you had never learned of him,” Kat interjected, “how is it you know of him?”
“Because we saw him,” Jne offered, tired of being left out of the conversation.
“You saw him?” Bren and Kat asked together.
Thane smiled sadly while nodding and then again told the story of releasing Gelfin from his TanIs and the conversation they had. Finishing, he let out a large yawn, which solicited one from Tam as well.
Bren looked as if he would ask another question but Jack suddenly cut in. “It might be best if we all left now and let these two get some rest. Thane still needs to regain his strength, and I’m quite sure that Tam could use some time to regain hers as well.”
Bren and Kat looked at Jack as if they would protest, their minds full of excitement and questions after having met Thane, but they choked back their objections and instead nodded slightly.
“With your permission,” Bren asked, “we will return later and speak more?”
Thane smiled and nodded. He too had many things he wanted to know but Jack was right. He was still tired and needed to allow his body to regain some of its strength. Now that he was reunited with his friends, they had to make plans as to what they would do next. It wouldn’t be long before Haykon was no longer safe.
“Tonight, after supper?” Thane offered.
Bren bowed deeply. “It would be an honor.”
Thane’s face turned slightly red at the obvious homage Bren was paying him but merely nodded back in reply. Kat was all smiles though as she regarded Thane and then Tam. She looked like she might skip out of the room. She followed Bren to the door but then turned back just before leaving. Looking back at them one last time she bubbled, “You two make a great match,” and then disappeared into the outer hall.
