Shades of Truth: Path of the Wielders 2

by Cleave Bourbon

  Gondrial rolled his eyes.

  “You honor me, now how may I assist you?”

  Bren looked around the room. “May we speak privately?”

  “As you wish, friend knight, but I have no reservations to speak openly.”

  “Very well, your word is known to be true.” He paused. “I have been sent out on a quest by my master. Amadace speaks of a prophecy that I must protect and that my quest begins with contacting you here in Adracoria. I have traveled from the red city of Draegodor nine months to reach you.”

  “I see. And to what prophecy does your master refer?”

  “The prophecy of the Lora Dren Na.”

  Kaxen saw recognition in Asterial’s face, but for whatever reason, he paused. “I am afraid I have never heard of that particular prophecy.” Kaxen caught a brief finger gesture with Asterial’s left hand.

  “Ah, well,” the dragon knight stammered unconvincingly, “I will join your quest until my quest reveals itself, master Elf since my master commands me, to begin with you.”

  “Very well, broodlord, I bid you welcome. We leave for the Great Forest in the morning. Be prepared to join us then.”

  “As you wish, Lord Elf.” The dragon knight turned to leave the room but stopped and focused on Kaxen for a long moment. Kaxen was beginning to get uncomfortable, and finally, the broodlord broke his stare and exited the room.

  “What was that all about?” Gondrial asked.

  “Our chances have just improved greatly. The broodlord will be a great ally.”

  Mavis entered the study. “I have turned back the beds, and the cook has stayed in the kitchen if anyone is hungry.”

  “Thank you, Mavis,” Asterial said. He raised his arms in welcome. “I leave you to yourselves. My home is open to you all.”

  Kaxen tossed and turned on his feather bed. He dreamt of a beautiful woman with black hair and a pleasant smile. She kept repeating that she was there to save him, and Kaxen knew he felt love for her. His heart reached out for her. No, I love Aurelie, and I plan to marry her, he thought to himself. He awoke in a cold sweat. Shaken, he rose from bed and put on an overshirt. Cautiously, he left his room, walked down the hall three doors to where Aurelie was sleeping, and gently tapped on her door. There was no reply; again he tapped, and the door began to open. Aurelie saw who it was and opened the door with a smart yank. “Kaxen, what are you doing?”

  “I am not sure. I had to see you. My dreams are troubling tonight.”

  “Well, come inside before someone sees you,” she said, pulling him inside her room. After Kaxen was safely inside, she put her arms around him in a hug. “You had become so distant lately I thought you no longer cared for me.”

  “Nothing could be further from the truth, Aurel; I am just worried about our fate. All of this traveling about has happened so fast. It unnerves me to think we’ve come into the presence of men such as Asterial, Morgoran, and their apprentices.” He held her close. “I had hoped to ask you to marry me this coming Summerwills day.”

  “Oh, Kaxen, that doesn’t have to change.”

  “Just hear me out,” he interrupted. He collected his thoughts. “I had hoped to settle down with you and eventually take over running Father’s inn. If Asterial has his way, we will be far from Brookhaven on Summerwills day.”

  “Maybe we should leave,” Aurelie suggested.

  “What?”

  “We should leave. You, Rennon, Asrion, and I. Let us flee this place and go back to Brookhaven.”

  “I thought of that already, but I don’t believe it would work, Aurel. Remember the first time we decided to go home. The Enforcers arrested us. If not for Gondrial and Lady Shey we might not have gotten this far. I wouldn’t want to run into Dramyds without them, would you?”

  “No, what do we do then?”

  Kaxen smiled, pushed her back and got on one knee.

  “Kaxen, what are you doing?”

  “Aurelie, I can think of no better time than now to ask you for your hand in marriage. I know it is traditional to ask for your hand from your father, and I promise I will as soon as we get back to Brookhaven. What do you say?”

  “Oh Kaxen, I…I think this is a bad time to-”

  “FIRE!” someone shouted from the hallway. “Everyone get out while you can!”

  “Come on, Aurelie,” Kaxen said, grabbing hold of Aurelie’s hand.

  As the two exited the room, they could see the flames for the first time coming up the stairway, blocking them in. Asrion and Rennon joined them in the hallway. “Get your things,” Kaxen shouted, “and come to the far end of the hall.”

  At the end of the hall, Kaxen opened the small window, and one by one, he threw their belongings out onto the lawn. “I saw a trellis here when we arrived. We should be able to climb down it.” The four friends climbed out of the window and made the short leap to the trellis as the flames inched closer to them.

  The first to reach the bottom of the trellis, Kaxen turned to run for help and came face to face with a Dramyd. The foul beast bared its teeth and claws. Kaxen reached for his sword, but he had not buckled it on. Panic began to well up inside him.

  “Run, Kaxen!” Aurelie shouted from the trellis. Kaxen prepared for the coming claw and teeth attack, but to his surprise, the Dramyd stayed its ground and screeched to alert the other Dramyds lurking in the darkness. Kaxen heard the singing of a sword, and he watched in shock as the Dramyd’s head sailed over him. Standing behind the fallen body of the decapitated Dramyd was Bren, his two swords drawn and gleaming in the moonlight. The firelight especially illuminated his eyes, which now appeared with slits as pupils, like that of a dragon. “Run to the docks, run!”

  Asrion and Rennon took off running as soon as their feet touched the ground.

  Bren helped Aurelie down from the trellis. “Asterial and Lady Shey are near the road.” He pointed to the general direction. “Either find them or run to the docks.”

  Kaxen took a hold Aurelie’s hand and ran in the direction the broodlord had pointed.

  Kaxen noticed several dead Dramyds lying about. He spotted Asterial and ran to him. “What happened here?”

  “We sensed the Dramyds attacking, and we engaged them. We didn’t know about or see the fire in time to warn you fast enough. Gondrial is searching the area, and the townspeople will arrive soon to help put out the flames. May I assume Rennon and Asrion made it too?” Asterial asked.

  “Aye, they made it out of the building at least. I think Bren is going after them down to the docks,” Kaxen replied.

  Kaxen observed Asterial holding the tome Lady Shey had brought with her from Symbor. “We have to get to the docks and leave as soon as we can. This fire and these dead Dramyds will raise concerns and questions from the townsfolk that I dare not answer. Here, Kaxen, take Aurelie and Lady Shey and head for the dock. Moored to the seventh peer is a ship called The Sea Goddess. Go aboard and rouse the captain. His name is Felladan; tell him to make ready. I will round up the others and meet you there shortly. Tell him I want the ship to pull away from the docks as soon as I arrive.”

  Kaxen nodded and then grabbed some of the equipment he had tossed out of the window. He searched for his sword, Dranmalin, but it was nowhere in the things he had tossed out the window. Aurelie and Lady Shey gathered up the rest of the equipment. Just as the weight of the packs began to slow them down, Rennon and Asrion joined them and helped ease the burden. Kaxen looked at the flames and wished for his sword. A moment later the blade came sailing through the flames and pierced the ground before him, smoldering and hot. Wispy strands of white smoke rolled off it.

  “Come on, Kaxen!” Aurelie called back.

  Kaxen tested the hilt of Dranmalin and found it cool to the touch. “hmm,” he said to himself. He grabbed the hilt and followed after Aurelie and the others.

  At the docks, Kaxen scanned the ships in their berths, “Keep an eye out for a ship called The Sea Goddess,” he told Rennon. “It is moored to the seventh peer, wherever that is.” />
  “The Sea Goddess it is,” Rennon replied.

  As they reached the docks, Asrion spotted the ship, and the small party made their way toward it.

  “Ahoy, Captain Felladan,” Kaxen shouted as they ran aboard ship. “Rouse the ship. Asterial says make ready to set sail.”

  “Who goes there?” a deep, raspy voice answered.

  “Friends of Asterial. Prepare the ship to set sail.”

  The captain came out of his cabin still in his underclothes and started ringing a bell. Soon the ship was alive with activity.

  “Keep the lights low, men; we travel out of the harbor in silence,” the captain shouted.

  Kaxen wondered why the captain was making so much noise if he wanted to leave silently. He decided the man was either still sleepy or just not that intelligent, to begin with.

  Soon Asterial, Bren, and Gondrial arrived, and the captain gave the order for the ship to leave the docks. Surprisingly, the ship did move rather silently once released from its moorings.

  Kaxen could see the fire burning in the distance until the ship finally drifted out to sea. He wondered if the other buildings around Asterial’s house had caught fire too.

  Chapter 10

  The early autumn sun beat down relentlessly on the decks of the sailing ship The Sea Goddess, reflecting light and sparse heat onto Kaxen and Aurelie as they stood looking at the Adracorian coast. The foliage along the coast was still lush and green; the tree line stood like an impenetrable wall between land and sea. Due to unusually strong currents, the captain had decided to hug the Trigothian coastline on route to the Sythian forest. Reports of raging storms farther out to sea also ensured him that he was making the right decision.

  Both Sythia and Adracoria were once part of a great empire, but now each kingdom stood as individual monarchies with only the traditional Trigothian cultures in common. Asterial had told Kaxen about the Trigothian civil wars and the splitting up of the empire after they had set sail the night before. Although Kaxen found the subject interesting, Asterial did not seem to require sleep, and Kaxen was exhausted so much of the history went unheard.

  This morning, Kaxen loitered on the deck near the bow of the ship. At his left, Rennon fished over the side. Rennon had traded one of the crewmembers a bag of tabac for a fishing pole. He had caught several good-sized fish in the two days since they had fled from Adrontear; he cleaned them and served them for evening meals. Kaxen found the change in menu refreshing. Asrion stowed himself away down below, performing deep meditative prayer in his cabin. Kaxen was glad that the cleric had finally gotten his sea legs. On the first day, Kaxen felt Asrion might not make it to the Great Sythian Forest. His bout of seasickness had taken on legendary status among the sailors. Aurelie strolled the deck at Kaxen’s right, her sandy golden hair gently blowing in the salt sea air. She had not yet answered his question, and he was becoming increasingly concerned. He thought back to the night of the fire a hundred times over, analyzing the moment. Did he see excitement in her face that night, or was she about to turn him down? He also thought that maybe she would have revisited the subject by now if she had intended to answer yes.

  “What is it?” Aurelie asked, noticing his faraway gaze. “What are you thinking about?”

  “Nothing,” Kaxen replied, deciding to leave the subject alone long enough to give her time to think it out. At least, that’s what he told himself.

  Asterial appeared behind them. “Kaxen; I have been looking for you all over the ship.”

  “Well, the ship isn’t that big, Asterial.”

  “Ah, you are so right,” Asterial regarded Aurelie. “However do you put up with him?”

  “He makes me laugh. Not that he’s particularly funny on purpose, but the fact that he doesn’t know he’s funny is what I love about him.” She kissed Kaxen lightly on the cheek. “I will leave you two to your business and go find Lady Shey and Enowene,” she said, then disappeared down into the hold.

  Asterial leaned farther against the wooden railing to observe Rennon fishing. “He caught supper yet?” Asterial asked, producing his long-stemmed pipe from beneath his robes and stuffing the bowl full of tabac.

  “I have not seen any fish yet, but I suspect he will catch a few before the hour rolls around.”

  Asterial eyed the sky suspiciously. “If the weather holds he should have plenty of time.”

  Kaxen nodded.

  “Is there anything you wish to tell me?” Asterial asked, still stuffing the pipe.

  “What do you mean?” Kaxen replied.

  “About you and Aurelie,” Asterial said, pointing the stem of the pipe to the direction Aurelie had gone before.

  “No, not particularly. Why do you ask?”

  “I am no fool, you know. I have been around for some time. You two have been back and forth since we left.” He stared out into the sea. “Something weighs heavy on her mind, and yours too, I think.” He put the unlit pipe to his mouth and puffed a few hard tugs. The pipe lit even though he put no visible flame to it. “You know, I once loved one such as Aurelie.”

  Kaxen was stunned. “You?”

  Asterial grinned. “I am old, my lad, but not dead.” He puffed white smoke into the air. “This girl I fell in love with was a beauty. She was tall and thin, with eyes of greenish-yellow and hair of gold.”

  “Was she from Arillia?” Kaxen asked.

  “Nay, she was Sylvan. Have you ever seen a Sylvan elf?”

  “No, I have seen Arillian and Darovan, but never Sylvan. I did read once that they never leave their forest.”

  “Oh, they leave the forest, but not without good cause,” Asterial said in between puffs. His mind seemed to wander for a moment before he spoke again. “Sylvan elves have olive skin, you know, not as fair as the Arillian.”

  Kaxen knew of the elves’ long life span. “Does your Sylvan elf maiden still reside in the forest? In the Great Sythian Forest, I mean.”

  “Aye, I expect she does. She has long since married before you go getting any ideas, but we will most likely see her. In a few days, we will dock at Crystalmill, the village at the edge of the forest, and from there we will travel to the city of Endil known in common tongue as Foreshome. The dock lies on the very outskirts of the Great Sythian Forest, and the journey to Endil will be long.”

  “Did you have something specific you wanted to discuss with me, Asterial,” Kaxen asked, “or have you come to discuss long lost loves?”

  Asterial sighed. “Gondrial tells me you and Aurelie are very close.”

  “Aye, that is true.”

  “How close, Kaxen? Would I be safe to say you plan to ask her hand in marriage?”

  Kaxen’s surprise was apparent. “Did Aurelie say something to you about it?”

  “Oh no, lad, it’s just a guess.”

  Kaxen looked at Asterial apprehensively. “What is this all about?”

  “I would urge you to curb your affections for Aurelie for the time being.”

  “It is too late, Asterial, I have already asked her.”

  Asterial puffed his pipe. “What was her answer then?”

  Kaxen lowered his head. “She has not given it to me yet.”

  “Then it is beginning,” Asterial whispered, and Kaxen was unsure of whether he was supposed to hear him.

  “You are making me nervous, Asterial. What are you not telling me?”

  Asterial shifted his weight against the rail, searching for the right words to express what he wanted to say. “You have an important destiny. I can’t tell you much about it at present because I don’t know everything about it myself yet, but I know you do.”

  Is it because I am a descendant of nobility from Ardenia?

  “You know about that already do you. That’s good, but it’s not the whole picture. There is a seed of the prophecy in Asheth’s Grimoire, even the counterfeit copy, that talks about a son of the Jagged Mountains taking in all the souls of all the men before him to defeat the greatest evil.”

  “What does that me
an?”

  “I am afraid that no one knows for certain. The theory is that this person will have all the souls of man behind him, backing him up to help defeat evil, but it’s only a theory. The book also says something about this person being good nor evil, but again, after one thousand years, no one understands the book’s meaning. When we get the real tome, I want you to look at it. Many of the magic tomes of the world are only readable and decipherable by the person intended to read it. If that’s you, it may speak to you where it doesn’t to others.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  Asterial puffed his pipe. “Now, back to my original line of inquiry, I just cannot see Aurelie as an integral part of your destiny.”

  Kaxen huffed. “Destiny! Destiny is what you make of it. What destiny are you talking about? A few words in a dusty old tome doesn’t speak to my destiny any more than it does Asrion’s or Rennon’s. You speak of a tome that no one understands and you have no idea of whether it refers to me or not, and let me be honest, I think not. I will marry Aurelie if I choose and no silly superstition will dissuade me.”

  Asterial puffed his pipe once more. “You have great potential within you; all I ask is that you don’t deny it to yourself. You have the ability to harness the essence of the land if only you would accept it.”

  “What are you suggesting, Asterial? That I become a wielder?” He pounded his fist on the wooden railing, allowing his bottled up emotions to surface. “I will never take the path of a wielder over a life with Aurelie.” Even as the words left his mouth he knew they were false. He had secretly been fascinated with wielding all of his life. He was just too afraid to admit it to anyone.

  After a long, uncomfortable silence, Asterial spoke. “Go and do as you will, Kaxen, but you cannot deny your destiny. Sooner or later, it will have its way with you,” he said, puffing on his pipe. He gave Kaxen a cold stare and then backed away toward the hold.

  “Crazy old elf,” Kaxen mumbled to himself, “trying to get me into trouble.” Kaxen looked at the coastline again and noticed the ship was coming in closer to shore. Ahead he could see a city and the masts and sails of ships in port. He saw that a crewmember was preparing the mooring ropes nearby.