Edge of Chaos

by Des Pensable

  Everyone followed his example. He picked up a small ceramic plate piled some food on it, held it to his mouth and ate with his fingers. The others followed suit all smiling and eagerly sizing up each other.’

  ‘This is a profanity.’ said Rosanllea vehemently to Bengorrin.

  ‘How can you permit this to happen here of all places. It is an insult to Lord Pellum. You sit with a woman that cavorts with animals and a stone abomination that reaps chaos wherever it goes. They should be cast out immediately or they will contaminate our people!’

  ‘Quiet Rosanllea, I am in charge here and these people are our guests.’

  Navarro and Gizel froze, and Miranda to her credit kept her calm.

  ‘Wow she’s certainly showing where she stands.’ said Miranda through the mindlink to Aquitain.

  ‘Yes. I wonder if it’s a ploy of some type to see how we’re going to react.’

  ‘You have a wonderful view from the terraces outside. The settlement here looks like it could defend itself well against a large force.’ said Miranda casually totally ignoring Rosanllea’s rudeness.

  ‘Yes.’ replied Bengorrin.

  ‘It has proven effective on one or two occasions.’

  Aquitain noticed that Rosanllea was concentrating a malevolent gaze at him, almost as if she was trying to cast a power at him. Then he noticed her eyes weren’t right, she was trying to read his spirit aura. He quickly created a Pure Heart covering his whole body effectively turning his aura invisible. He noticed with some degree of satisfaction, the surprise on her face.

  ‘Now let’s see what you’ve got to hide.’ he thought and activated his aura vision.

  ‘Take care Miranda.’ he suddenly said through their mindlink. ‘Rosanllea is possessed by a Mentarin.’ then he quickly screened the others in the room but saw no more.’

  ‘You’re joking aren’t you? You mean we’re having breakfast with the enemy?’

  Bengorrin was watching Miranda carefully he noticed her suddenly tense up and carefully slip Tigerlilly under her left arm.

  ‘Wait,’ said Bengorrin urgently.

  ‘I know you can see the Mentarin here. Please hear his story before you act.’

  Miranda jumped to her feet and shouted aloud,

  ‘You wish me to talk to a Mentarin? One has possessed me! It allowed me to witness the destruction it wrought in my own home. It forced me to feel the terror and betrayal of a child I knew, as my hands strangled her to death.’

  ‘Calm down Miranda!’ said Aquitain.

  ‘Calm down, they haven’t threatened us in any way.’

  ‘It’s all right for you in your stupid little stone body. It can’t hurt you but it can hurt Tigerlilly. I’ll destroy them all before they get near her.’

  The curtains began to part as guards, hearing the shouting, began to enter. Aquitain slammed a hardened air barrier across the entrance. Rosanllea jumped up and ran toward the entrance only to be stopped by the invisible barrier. Navarro and Gizel scrambled on their hands and knees across the floor to the wall. Only Bengorrin stayed seated with a look of grim determination on his face.

  ‘Please be seated, Princess Miranda. On my honour he will not harm you or your child. You may hold a dagger to my throat if you wish. Not all Mentarin are evil monsters like the one that possessed you.’

  ‘Please Miranda, please calm down, I can see him. I will destroy him if he threatens our daughter.’ said Aquitain through the mindlink.

  ‘Okay, I’ll hold you to that!’ she said and sat down with a defiant look on her face.

  ‘Guards close that curtain; there is no problem here!’ shouted Bengorrin, then in a much more pleasant voice.

  ‘Rosanllea, would you please re-join us.’

  She returned and sat with a neutral expression on her face. Navarro and Gizel also carefully edged their way back and sat down.

  ‘Excellent, we are making progress.’ said Bengorrin.

  ‘By the Powers, this man is cool.’ thought Aquitain, getting rather eager to hear what they had to say.

  Bengorrin looked at Navarro and Gizel and they both instantly fell asleep sliding down into a prone position on the floor.

  ‘It is safer for them if they don’t know what you are about to hear.’ he said with a smile.

  ‘Now we have a small problem before I proceed. Miranda has a parasite on her back, which is a spy for Lord Borse. It should be eliminated.’

  ‘The creature is known to me and is my friend I will not let it be killed.’ stated Miranda.

  Rosanllea stood up and shouted.

  ‘You have a puppeteer as a friend? This is grotesque Bengorrin. They mock everything we stand for. They may be spies for Borse checking our defences.’

  ‘I will ensure that the creature hears nothing by putting it to sleep.’ said Aquitain first charming Slivver then using a powerful suggestion to sleep.

  ‘You may check it now if you wish.’

  Bengorrin closed his eyes and moments later agreed that Slivver was indeed asleep.

  ‘I don’t wish to lecture you but puppeteers are notoriously fickle in their friendship. It worries me that you believe it is friendly, however, that is your concern.’ he stated.

  ‘You should hear Thevenin’s story first.’ said Bengorrin, he cohabitates in Rosanllea’s body with her. They do not agree on many things but they are both dedicated healers.

  A mindspeak voice appeared in their minds.

  ‘Hello, I am Thevenin, previously a Mentarin healer. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the brutal transgressions of one of my former colleagues. Please believe me that although many are malign, there are also those that aspire to better things.’

  ‘Over three hundred years ago, I was a Mind wizard who specialized in healing. I freely admit I was arrogant and greedy for power but mainly to further my healing career. I was approached to join a secret alliance of wizards called the Mentarin Society, which promised to reveal the secret of exceptionally long life. I agreed and in due course discovered that long life could be obtained by separating the spirit from the body. It was the body that grew old and when it died the spirit was sent to the world beyond. If the spirit could move to a young new body then the spirit could continue living.’

  ‘The problem, of course, was that each person is only given one body. To have a second, we had to take it from another person. At first, we only took bodies from convicted criminals awaiting execution. Then through research we found a way to exist outside the body without being sent to the world of the dead. This meant that we could travel from body to body at will. It didn’t take too long before many of our members got addicted to living other people’s lives and experiences rather than their own.’

  ‘My job as healer was to administer help to any member of the society in need, but I found that while their spirit was sturdy it was their minds that were weak. In due course, many forgot their studies and began controlling people’s lives by possessing their hosts rather than cohabitating with them. In doing so they went down the path of cruelty and depravity where many of them dwell today.’

  ‘One day several years ago, I realized how abhorrent the Mentarin Society had become. The bad outnumbered the good, so I fled in the body of an animal. I roamed the world for more than a year until I came upon the Hidden Ones. They were controlled by a Leader who was possessed by a vicious cruel Mentarin and they were torturing Rosanllea.’

  ‘I killed the Mentarin and possessed the Leader and forced him to reform his ways and introduced the philosophical teachings of Lord Pellum to help bind the people together. Later the Leader was killed and Rosanllea offered herself for cohabitation. We introduced the concept of electing a leader from among the people and they chose Bengorrin. We moved here and have spent considerable effort in fortifying the place. The people now are happy and secure.’

  ‘Why are you telling us this?’ asked Miranda, now much more in control of herself.

  ‘Because you two are the first people in centuries to stand up t
o the Mentarin. You offer hope and the time for change is well overdue. You must also be aware that there is a problem in this land. The Elendari rarely have children and the Trixies’ children are horribly disfigured.’

  ‘Do you know what causes the infertility and mutations?’ asked Aquitain.

  ‘No.’ replied Thevenin. ‘I wish we did as we might be able to do something about it.’

  ‘Could it be something to do with the factory.’ asked Miranda.

  ‘Possibly.’ replied Thevenin.

  ‘There were some horrendous magical experiments carried out there but nothing that could possibly affect the whole population of Elendari or Trixie people located hundreds of leagues away.’

  ‘Were the Elendari here before the Mentarin.’ asked Aquitain.

  Thevenin was quiet for a few seconds as if weighing up his response.

  ‘No one was here before the Mentarin; all the people, the animals and the plants have been introduced by them over the last thousand years.’

  ‘So they have been building their own world.’ said Miranda.

  Even Rosanllea and Bengorrin were shocked at this disclosure.

  ‘You’ve never mentioned that before.’ said Bengorrin.

  ‘Well it never seemed overly important.’ said Thevenin, ‘After all you’ve all been here an awfully long time and it’s only recently that you’ve had any problems.’

  ‘So it could be something that they’ve introduced in the last few decades that’s causing the fertility and mutation problems?’ suggested Miranda.

  ‘Possibly.’ said Thevenin thoughtfully.

  ‘There has been a continual program of introduction of new plants and animals to the land. While many Mentarin have become depraved beasts there are still a few who have dedicated their lives to developing this world. The Lord of the Mentarin himself is one of them.’

  ‘So why has Borse not controlled the unruly Mentarin?’ asked Aquitain.

  ‘I’ve thought about that a lot. Some of us petitioned him to do something, but he didn’t act. So I don’t know the answer to that question.’

  ‘Where does Borse normally live?’ asked Aquitain.

  ‘Where does the wind live? Borse is everywhere and nowhere.’ replied Thevenin.

  ‘So he’s become a deity.’ said Aquitain.

  ‘No. He’s a Power that is for sure. Perhaps he is seeking divinity but none that I know believe he’s there yet. Certainly none that I know worship him although most fear him.’

  ‘How many Mentarin are there?’ asked Aquitain.

  ‘In this world, perhaps two hundred and on other worlds, another two hundred.’ said Thevenin. ‘There are also two to three thousand slaves here as well.’

  ‘And all of the Mentarin are or were mind wizards?’ queried Aquitain.

  ‘Originally all were mind wizards then the supply dried up. The religions outlawed the study of mind magic so we then began to take in ordinary Archwizards. It is there that I think we made the mistake. They were the first to be corrupted.’

  Aquitain asked many questions and found that Thevenin answered the general questions quite candidly, but more specific questions like how to kill Mentarin or what was the Cadalthian, he dodged. It was obvious that even though he had left the Mentarin he still felt obligated to keep some important facts secret.

  In truth, Aquitain had to admire the Mentarin. They were a large group of mind wizards like himself, who had joined together to study and carry out research on a range of topics. He had to admit that if someone had approached him to join the group near the end of his life, it would be hard to resist.

  The real problem was that they had become arrogant to the extreme, eventually believing that they were above all other people and as such could do as they wished. By controlling royalty and leaders they could manipulate whole countries, even worlds. Perhaps this was why the religious groups in Panmagica persecuted mind wizards? They knew about them and tried to eliminate them before they could become a problem. He wondered how much Granddad knew about the Mentarin? Perhaps that is why he and Melanie had been so sheltered.

  A guard with some urgent problem interrupted their discussions. Bengorrin was gone for only a minute or two and came back smiling.

  ‘We will have to interrupt this meeting for the moment. It seems we have unwanted visitors. You have asked a good number of questions but curiously not asked why our settlement has its unusual name. You are about to find out. One of our scouts has detected what appears to be a patrol of Elendari about six strong. In the past we might have ambushed them running the risk of injuring some of our people. Currently we have a better solution.’

  They waited some five minutes until a guard entered stating that they were ready. Bengorrin gave the signal to proceed and a strange moaning scream began first from the lower tier then progressively gained volume as the higher tiers joined in until it took on a wail off terrifying proportions. Navarro and Gizel awoke. Aquitain created a zone of silence within the room blocking the din as he could hear Miranda’s heart beat increase and was worried about its effect on Tigerlilly.

  ‘By the gods, what are they doing.’ said Miranda through the mindlink.

  ‘Bengorrin gave us the clue. The settlement is called Banshee. They are using those cone shaped things in their dwellings to simulate the wail of a banshee, a terribly violent ghost. Its wail can kill. Now I understand the choice of this cliff. Can you imagine an army facing that sound? Even if they survived they’d run so fast that it would take a week to catch them again.’

  Bengorrin turned to Miranda and Aquitain and indicated with his hands that it had stopped so Aquitain eliminated the zone of silence.

  ‘I see you know how to counter our trick. The sound travels a good half a league. Fortunately it deters most unwanted visitors before they get close enough to be a nuisance. In this case the patrol has beat a hasty retreat. We also have other surprises if they don’t heed the warning.’

  ‘We will have to go.’ said Aquitain suddenly.

  ‘You may or may not be aware that you have a new neighbour not too far from here. I suspect that patrol was to test out what you would do if they approached. Since you have kindly told them, I had better stop them from suddenly dropping in and a lot of people getting killed for no particular reason.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ asked Bengorrin.

  ‘Gemelica has defected to the Mentarin. Miranda is the only other candidate for Queen and she already has a small army at her disposal. I suspect it won’t take more than a week for many more Lords to come around to accepting her as Queen. You don’t think that they will let her wander around the country without keeping a close watch on her, do you? I suspect that they’re worried now that you’ve signalled that you don’t welcome them here.’

  ‘I told you this meeting would lead to no good.’ said Rosanllea.

  ‘On the contrary.’ said Bengorrin.

  ‘It has been most productive. You no doubt expected us to consider your proposal. My people have been shunned by the Elendari Lords for decades because they are not perfect in body or mind. We do wish to see true unity. If you can convince the Elendari Lords to accept the Hidden Ones as equals then you will have your alliance Warden and we will help you defeat the Mentarin.’

  ‘It will be difficult, but we will try.’ said Aquitain.

  ‘Perhaps if one of your people were prepared to accompany us it would help.’ suggested Miranda.

  ‘That might be difficult as they have all had unfortunate experiences with the Elendari I’m afraid.’ replied Bengorrin.

  ‘I would be prepared to go with them if it would help bring about unity between us, my Lord. They seem honourable people and their task is great.’ said Gizel suddenly.

  ‘Hmm. An interesting thought. Can you guarantee her safety?’ asked Bengorrin.

  ‘I will personally guarantee her safety.’ replied Aquitain.

  ‘Then I have no objection but it is up to Rosanllea as Gizel is bound to her.’ He replied and
turned to Rosanllea for an answer.

  Gizel dropped to her knees in front of Rosanllea and said.

  ‘I humbly wish to be discharged from my apprenticeship Mistress. I truly believe that I might be of greater service to our people by helping the Warden arrange an alliance between us. Unified we might be able to defeat the Mentarin and create a better future for us all.’

  Everyone waited for Rosanllea’s reply and she dragged it out mercilessly.

  ‘Go! I no longer need you. I have plenty of apprentices that are prepared to work and not waste their time dreaming about myths and legends and alliances. You are discharged! May Pellum watch over you.’

  ‘Thank you mistress.’ she said then turned to the Warden.

  ‘Thank you Warden. I would be honoured to accompany you and assist in any possible way to create an alliance between my people and yours.’

  ‘Then it is agreed. Gizel take this ring of communication of mine and use it if you wish to arrange further talks between us.’ said Bengorrin.

  ‘We will have to fly, if we are to catch that patrol.’ said Miranda.

  ’I hope you have got a brave heart and a strong stomach because you’ll need it.’

  Miranda picked up Tigerlilly and beckoned them all to come.

  One of the guards suddenly mentioned something to Bengorrin.

  ‘Perhaps it would be safer to stay on the ground rather than flying Your Highness.’ he said.

  ‘Why?’ asked Miranda.

  ‘There are large bat like creatures we call narrowbills that fly along the mountain range around here that attack anything moving. You have already encountered one so I need not convince you that they are dangerous.’

  ‘Thank you for the warning we will watch out for them and deal with them if necessary.’ said Miranda.

  She could see that they were not happy about her flying and suspected that there was another reason but they said no more.