World's End

by Will Elliott

  ‘Do they slay the Tormentors too? We have seen many dead ones.’

  Domudess looked at the haiyens. Silent communication passed between them. ‘They do not come here to do that work,’ he said.

  ‘That does not answer it. Did not the beasts come from their lands?’ Tauk pressed.

  ‘The beasts did not. They resulted from a mingling of poisoned airs. The Tormentors are our own people, Tauk. Our own people, warped horribly by poison, fusing them in several realities at once. Do not blame the haiyens. Those who ruled our lands created an army of the creatures quite deliberately.’ For the first time Domudess looked at Blain. ‘Is that not so?’

  Blain shrugged, winced. ‘We made some mistakes, I admit it.’

  Domudess’s stare lingered on him for a while, more damning than any retort. ‘It is time for you to leave,’ he said, turning to Far Gaze.

  The haiyen with the mark on his forehead gestured for Siel and Far Gaze to stand together. A pulse of cold came from the mark in the haiyen’s forehead, sweeping over all three. A tunnel which seemed made of wind and light opened before them. The mayor’s men cringed back from it. Siel stepped into it. Her body became a speeding, twirling blur of itself unwinding into a spiral of colour, then was gone. Two haiyens went in after her. Their bodies vanished almost instantly.

  Far Gaze hesitated. This was nothing he’d seen or heard of before.

  ‘Go now,’ said Domudess sharply.

  Far Gaze stepped in, felt himself unmade like a garment pulled by a loose string in its sleeve. It was painless but unpleasant. All was cold. He forgot who he was, what he was – he was aware only of fast swirling motion. Consciousness slowly returned with the sound of running water.

  28

  HOW TO DEAL WITH DRAGONS

  Said Tauk the Strong, ‘You say the dragons will be free, that they will make war upon us. You say those haiyens you call “the lost ones” will offer to slay the dragons for us. Tell us why we shouldn’t accept their offer.’

  ‘There is a better way to deal with dragons than fighting them at all,’ said Domudess. ‘It will require new thinking from you. The good news is that if you can accept this new way of thinking, the solutions are easy. Persuading you – and others – shall be the most difficult part.’

  ‘I am listening, wizard. Speak.’

  Without interrupting, Tauk and Blain listened to what Domudess said. Tauk’s men fidgeted, now and then grumbled under their breaths, shaking their heads in disbelief at what they heard. It was clear that only their mayor’s silence kept them from walking away in disgust, or perhaps even drawing their weapons. The haiyen met eyes with no one and kept his gaze carefully on the ground, not even looking at the fire.

  When Domudess had finished, Tauk sat dumbstruck. At last he said, ‘You are surely joking.’

  ‘It is the best way to deal with them,’ said Domudess. ‘As I said, convincing you that this is so will be the hardest task.’

  ‘And how do you know, wizard?’ Tauk roared. The haiyen flinched. ‘It seems you take many things on faith. Have you tried this practice upon the dragons yourself? Suppose I accepted what you say. How do we spread your message to the cities? How do I explain this to my generals and my fighting men?’

  ‘The cities should all be evacuated,’ said Domudess. ‘As for the rest, we can discuss how after we are agreed this is what must be done.’

  ‘Evacuated?’ Tauk laughed, shook his head. ‘You mean surrendered! Let me make sure my ears don’t deceive me. You say that by being good, gentle people who lay down their arms …’

  ‘Don’t make it so simple,’ said Domudess, the first hint of anger showing in his voice. ‘It is not about being “good”. We are all made of energy, not unlike the energies in the airs. What appears solid is in fact energy condensed, all vibrating at a slow rate. The more positive we are, the faster our energy vibrates. It begins with good thoughts and deeds, with positive emotion behind all we do, instead of fear, anger, hate. To banish all negativity from one’s mind and actions moves one to a different energy vibration, where the dragons cannot perceive us. In a way, it is a kind of magic, Tauk. And one need not be a magician to use it. This world is designed so that many things block our moving to a higher state. Once we step back from trying to change the external world and clear the blockages within ourselves, this particular magic becomes effortless.’

  ‘We know how to banish our fear. We destroy that which causes it.’

  ‘This change is a hard one to make. I am a master of the old magic ways, but a mere student in these new ways. The journey is one we could share. To hear the lesson is easy, to practise it is less easy. Could you watch a beast eat your children before your eyes and still love it? Could you?’

  ‘Of course not.’

  ‘Now you begin to see how much work is ahead of you. Take the vilest poison-spitting monster that ever was. Could you look at it and, say, admire the cleverness of its design? Could you understand that it is simply doing what it was created to do, the same way a fire burns whatever wood it touches, with neither innocence nor guilt? And could you honour its rightful place in creation? Could you watch the monster belch flame over your city, Mayor, over all you’ve held dear, then approach it with no hate, no envy of its power, no desire for revenge for what it did?’

  ‘This is madness.’

  ‘If you could, the dragons would literally not see you. You would occupy a different state of being, as one looking down upon the dragons from a high place they are unaware of. If all of us could do this, the great dragons would see none of us. We would no longer exist in their perceptions. We would know them, but they would not know us. Do you ever wonder where the dark-skinned peoples went? Why there are nowadays so few of them? It is because they know a version of these same arts. They can come back and forth into our perception as they wish. When the dragons come, they shall not see them.

  ‘I share your doubts – it will not be easy to teach masses of people this knowledge, people who for generations have known only war. Perhaps it is impossible to teach them. But those who learn shall survive the times when dragons are again free. It is unknown how much time we have.’

  Tauk and his men were laughing now. ‘I see,’ said the mayor, wiping at a tear of mirth. ‘So, we shall lay down all our weapons, abandon our cities, love our foes and let come what may.’

  ‘You do not understand,’ said Domudess.

  Blain had watched and listened in silence. Now he said, ‘I heard what happened, off east. A fight, with the mayor’s men and the new peoples. Eh? You know of it? One of the mayor’s men died, slain by a haiyen. Was it love that killed him?’

  ‘I never said the haiyens knew no ways of combat,’ said Domudess. ‘Nor did I say that positive force could not be dangerous, if it were attacked. But we are discussing a way to deal with dragons. Not with angry men.’

  ‘Who will teach us in these ways?’ said Blain, plucking at his beard.

  ‘You shall never learn,’ said Domudess. ‘Not you, Blain. I know your mind. Even if we wished desperately to teach you – and we do not – even then, you could not learn.’

  Blain scoffed. ‘These sword-molesting imbeciles could learn a new science, but not I? I who helped create a god?’

  ‘Your mind is a container of the wrong shape for the knowledge, that is all. If the dragons come, you will have to hide.’

  ‘If all you say is true,’ said Tauk, ‘could dragons not still see our cities? The buildings we use for homes? Answer that! Could they not burn those buildings with their breath? And burn all those inside the buildings, whether those people “love” the dragons or not?’

  ‘As you were told. The cities must be evacuated. All of them. New cities can be built later. But they must be built with love in the hearts and understanding in the minds of those who build them. Such cities will be safe from the dragons.’

  ‘What is wrong with our cities now?’ demanded one of Tauk’s men.

  ‘They are places of war. They are pr
izes men warred over. They were built to farm wealth and breed soldiers, so that men could play as lords, and wage wars as if playing games upon a board.’

  ‘So all our history is without any honour to you, wizard? Each time our city repelled attack, we were committing a crime. This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.’ Tauk rubbed his eyes and looked around as though to ensure he wasn’t dreaming. He pointed at the haiyen. ‘These people have advanced magic arts. If they aren’t willing to share them, why are they here? They came to our lands uninvited. Lay down your arms, they tell us. Cease using the magic you know. Leave your cities free for anyone to take. If I had the ear of an enemy, and I thought him stupid enough to do those things, I’d say the same. At best, it’s madness.’

  ‘They do not tell you what to do,’ said Domudess quietly. ‘They present a choice for you to consider.’

  ‘How soon till the dragons come?’ said Blain. He caught the mayor’s eye with a look which seemed to say: Give them a little more rope.

  ‘It may be another year, or it may be days. Fearing them is the worst thing you can do. Be aware of them, but do not fear. The next worst things are to worship them, and to fight them. It is not a fight you can win. You may slay a few Minor dragons – at great cost – but all men in the world together could not slay one of the Eight. No matter what the dragons do, you must understand and love them.’

  ‘Have you wasted my time for your amusement? My city is under siege. It could fall at any—’

  ‘Your city won its battle,’ said the haiyen. It was the first time it had spoken since the others had departed. The haiyen’s oval-shaped eyes were on the mayor, its hands folded before its chest. Tauk froze, his eyes wide. His two men leaned forwards eagerly. ‘If that gives you peace, know it to be true.’ The haiyen said no more.

  Domudess smiled. ‘I shall explain. In the tower I have ways of observing some faraway events. I took it upon myself to examine your city, when we learned you had come here. It seems a half-giant – you may know him, his name is Gorb – visited Tanton, Mayor, with the guidance of a groundman. He arrived a little after the castle army arrived. The siege began and unfolded as you would expect. Gorb brought with him a strange kind of Otherworld weapon, along with one of Tanton’s own Engineers, who knew how to make them.

  ‘It seems Gorb told your generals that you are a man of the highest honour, that you had ridden through many perils and battles to fetch the aid your city needed. He showed the generals the weapons. With great haste they summoned the other Engineers, who built many more. Some of the weapons worked. Most did not, but there were enough. Gorb taught a group of your soldiers how to use them. The siege force scattered rather quickly when their officers were picked off and slain from a long distance away by something able to punch through armour. Your city is safe, and so is your place there. A hero’s welcome awaits you – the half-giant has seen to that. Something you did must have impressed him.’

  Tauk and his men were lost for words, unsure whether to believe or not. Blain said, ‘If that pretty tale’s true, it won’t be worth a cup of drake piss when the dragons come. Otherworld weapons, are they enough to deal with dragons? I’ll venture not. So tell us how the beasts can be slain.’

  ‘No! Enough of their comedy,’ said Tauk. ‘Whether they speak truly of my city or not, my decision is made. I make it on behalf of all peoples of this realm. We will not lay down our arms and bare our throats. We will not abandon the cities we have shed so much blood to defend. There is one reason you would school us to do things leading to certain defeat: you are our enemy, not those “lost” haiyens you speak of. You, wizard, are a traitor to Levaal North, and to its people. You are now our prisoner, along with this invader.’

  A look passed back and forth between Domudess and the haiyen. There was something sad in it, also something which said: As we expected. Then the pair of them vanished before Tauk’s men had risen to their feet to detain them.

  Blain noticed for the first time that Kiown was no longer with them. He had no idea when the Hunter had slipped away.

  ‘To the tower!’ Tauk said. He and the men ran there fast; Valour’s armour gave them no need to pause for breath. From the tower came loud breaking noises. A crack appeared up one side and spread like a hatching egg. There were sounds like thick stone slabs being crushed. The top parts of the tower broke away and fell into the waters and onto the small platform beneath. Domudess stood motionless at its base as slabs of wood, brick, and a rain of dirt fell all about him.

  It took only a minute or two for the whole tower to become a mound of rubble, shrinking in on itself, dissolving. The moat’s waters retracted. Soon there was just a mound of sand in the structure’s place, no more than two cupped hands could hold. Domudess crouched, scooped it all into a small leather bag, careful to get every grain, before tying the bag’s string, putting it in his pocket, and vanishing again from their sight.

  ‘Where’s the haiyen?’ said Blain, hobbling fast to catch up with the others.

  At that instant something swooped over their heads, causing a rush of wind which knocked all four of them to the ground. A heavy thud sounded on the grass close by.

  Blain was the last of them to get back to his feet. He rubbed his eyes, hardly believing what he saw. A dragon was before them, its long tail lashing the ground. Light glittered from its eyes and many colours flashed over its long slender body.

  Kiown was sitting aboard its back with two women. ‘Get off,’ he told them. Evelle leaped to the ground, a sad pout on her face.

  Stranger begged: ‘Don’t take him away from me, don’t take him—’

  Kiown pushed on her chest with one boot and she fell back onto the grass. To Evelle he said, ‘You know what to tell them. I’ll return later. Up, Dyan. Fly.’ To Blain’s utter astonishment, the dragon obeyed him. The Strategist lowered himself back to the ground and tried to steady his hands.

  Evelle crouched beside him. ‘Kiown spoiled our fun,’ she said. ‘Anyway. He said to say, this is one of the things his charm does, in case you were wondering.’

  Tauk and his men just stared as Dyan became a dot on the horizon’s sky. Blain swallowed. ‘He … he can command dragons?’

  ‘Only Dyan,’ said Evelle. ‘It’s Dyan’s punishment for being a bad dragon and playing around with women, instead of doing what he was sent down here to do. They made him a slave to humans. Kiown said a white dragon told him about it.’

  ‘There’s a second dragon free …?’

  ‘Yes, a girl dragon. She looks different from Dyan. When we came near, she turned herself into a woman. So, Dyan has to obey whoever has the charm. O, Blain, another thing. Kiown also said to say that you’re his advisor now, not the mayor’s. And that the mayor’s not a mayor any more, he’s the general of a new army. But he can call himself Mayor for a while. We’ll be using the men of his city as our army until we recruit more, if the mayor’s willing. If he’s not, we’ll use them anyway. It will be easier if he goes along with it. If he doesn’t …’ She laughed. ‘Well, guess.’

  ‘Where’d he go?’ said Blain weakly. It was just beginning to make him numb, it had not even begun to hurt yet: that he’d had the opportunity to take that amulet and out of caution he’d chosen not to. Command of that dragon could have been his. He thought, I’ll have it yet! That fucker knew all along, he was waiting for the dragon to come near enough for him to bring it under the amulet’s spell. Maybe back when we fought, he could’ve slain me with ease, but instead he kept me around for my usefulness! I’ll play along for now, but when he drops his guard, the charm’s mine …

  Blain was so lost in thought he didn’t hear Evelle’s answer. ‘Kiown’s off to Levaal South. He said there’s someone there he’s got to speak with. It’s all very exciting, Blain. Isn’t it?’

  29

  CITY OF THE LOST HAIYENS

  Dyan shot through the sky like an arrow fired, now and then dipping or swerving to catch gusts of wind for a boost to their speed. Sitting aboard him
was so natural that Kiown felt like a limb moulded to his back. It was still hard to believe that this mighty creature actually obeyed him; it could turn and slay him with ease at any second. Shilen had explained the amulet would not allow it.

  She had also told him what was expected of him. As long as he played his role – to be a lord of men, in opposition to the Pilgrim and Aziel – he was free to act as he would, or so she’d claimed.

  Well, he would see if she truly meant it …

  They’d crossed World’s End many hours back, with no ceremony and no noticeable effect. Nightmare was still patrolling the skies near the boundary, although he’d clearly failed in his attempt to stop the stoneflesh giants from crossing. Near the boundary Kiown had seen two, both standing motionless in the southern realm. Other than the haiyens themselves, there was no indication yet that anything had crossed back in response.

  As they flew he tried to compare the worlds of North and South. From the skies, Levaal North seemed like a sculpture assembled by whimsical forces not concerned with cohesion or beauty. The South was a more finely made sculpture, formed by an artist … but over time set upon and trampled by something huge, mindless and destructive. The range of mountains they’d just flown over had shapes too deliberate not to have been crafted by something quite conscious of its work; but a mountain-sized pile of loose shattered stone through the middle of the range ruined the picture. Blankets of sparkling green forest laid out in twisting patterns had vast crushed swathes through them, leaving blackened indentations where nothing had grown back.

  The strangest thing to Kiown was the sense that this had all happened long ago, this damage to the South world. And yet natural processes had not covered the tracks of whatever had done it. Was time different here? Indeed there seemed no darkening of day and night by which to keep track of his journey. So it was he could not have said how many hours or days they’d flown.

  Still, all this was not as strange as Kiown’s brief glimpse of Otherworld, with its peculiar points of light in the night sky. Could it really be true, he wondered yet again, that a world existed with no magic in it? ‘Is there magic here?’ Kiown asked Dyan.