by Martin Ash
Shenwolf removed his helmet. Leth turned back. 'Urch-Malmain, do you recognize this man?'
'Why yes. Yes indeed. Good-day, young fellow. How pleasing to see you again. This is truly a day of surprises, is it not?'
'Can you restore him to what he was before he knew you?' demanded Leth impatiently.
'If he is willing. I would never wish to inflict anything upon a person against that person's will.'
'What of the others - Harg, Rasgul, Hellia . . . ?'
'The same applies.' As Triune looked on, Urch-Malmain limped over to Shenwolf and peered up at him. 'Are you willing?'
'I am.'
Urch-Malmain grasped Shenwolf's jaw between his fingers and thumb. 'Then be receptive.'
Shenwolf's shoulders slackened abruptly. His eyes glazed over. He stood with a vacant expression. Urch-Malmain flashed a quick, harsh smile at Leth. 'The process will take only a short time. I will escort him to another chamber. You can see him when it is done.'
'No tricks,' warned Leth. 'I will know if you attempt to deceive us.'
'I would never,' replied the Noeticist. He took Shenwolf's arm and led him like an obedient child from the room.
SIX
i
Less than an hour passed. Leth waited in agitation with his two children. Triune stood by, silent and detached. At last Urch-Malmain returned. A charmless smile flickered upon his lips and was gone. 'It is done.'
'Where is he?' enquired Leth.
'Within, grappling with his memories. Tussling with the grimmest of realities.'
'Is he all right?'
Urch-Malmain gave an insouciant shrug of his lumpy shoulders. 'He knows what he is. That is not always a good thing. I think he agrees now that it was a merciful and philanthropic service I originally performed upon him. Still, why do you not go and see?'
'I will. But there are other things I would ask first.'
Urch-Malmain darted a hooded glance at him, then Triune. 'Yet more conditions?'
'The first time I came here you spoke of the difficulties you had encountered in constructing the Portal and making it functional,' Leth said. 'You mentioned 'testing' the Portal by sending various persons through.'
Urch-Malmain's eyes narrowed. 'I don't recall.'
'I think you do. You made passing reference to a savage creature that came through: a hybrid of human barbarian warrior and some kind of blue-skinned reptilian brute.'
Urch-Malmain shifted uneasily.
'You jettisoned it immediately, so you said,' Leth went on.
'That may be so. Yes. Yes, that was the way of it.'
'Now I want the truth.'
'I have given you the truth!' protested Urch-Malmain in a reedy voice. 'It is in my very nature to do only that! The creature was plucked randomly from I know not where within Enchantment's Reach. I sent it straight back.'
'No. There is more to it,' asserted Leth, his anger uncoiling. 'That creature it is who has sired the Legendary Child who brings chaos upon my kingdom and who now holds my Queen a prisoner. I will know, was this by your doing?'
'Most assuredly not! I am aghast at the suggestion!'
'Then tell me all you know.'
'Do as he asks, Urch-Malmain,' said Triune. 'It can benefit no one now to maintain the subterfuge. Not even you.'
Urch-Malmain seemed of two minds. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. 'Very well. The creature--'
'You are lying!' accused Triune.
Urch-Malmain looked wounded. 'I have not yet spoken!'
'Nevertheless, you were preparing to emit an untruth.'
'How can you--'
'Urch-Malmain, can you not understand that the time for prevarication and subterfuge is over? Everything depends upon solving this mystery and bringing this matter to its conclusion, here and now, for all of us. Whatever you may have done in the past, you will not be held to account by us. But punishment will come as a natural consequence if you withhold your assistance. So be done with it.'
Urch-Malmain considered, sniffed, shrugged. He gave a sour grunt. 'There is not a lot I can tell.'
'Tell it anyway!' growled Leth.
'The creature was Strymnia's,' said Urch-Malmain. 'It was a hybrid of I-don't-know-what, formed of things from various worlds and dimensions, mingled according to Strymnia's precise designs, coalesced into a single monstrous being, then set loose upon Enchantment's Reach.'
'For what purpose?' demanded Leth.
'To sire the Legendary Child and bring about the predicted chaos and downfall of your land. Strymnia is the creator of the ancient Screed of the True Sept. It is a means laid long ago to help her achieve her ends.'
'The creator?'
'Just so.'
'But why?'
'So that the Sept will rise up at the proper time to assist her in overthrowing Enchantment's Reach.'
'But again, why?' persisted Leth, becoming exasperated. 'What is Enchantment's Reach to her?'
'It is not truly the Reach itself,' said Urch-Malmain archly. 'It is Orbia, or something it contains, that draws her.'
'Orbia?' Leth looked from one to the other.
'It is perhaps not for us to speak of this now,' said Triune in a ponderous voice. 'It is, after all, Orbelon's secret. Hence it is for Orbelon to reveal to you, if he chooses.'
'Orbelon is not here.'
'Unfortunate! But he will come when you bring him his Soul.'
'And if I fail?'
'Then it will not matter, for any of us.'
Leth was pitched yet again into a turmoil of doubt and maddening confusion. He stared at the two of them and wondered at the secrets that lay concealed behind their inscrutable brows. He perceived them suddenly as together, two awesomely potent beings of the same stock, who, whilst adversaries, ultimately pursued the same aims. He felt they mocked and toyed with him. What did they care for the hopes, aspirations and achievements of humanity? What did they care for him?
How can I trust these beings?
And Orbelon?
Orbelon!
What is this new secret?
Leth wanted to strike out with his sword. He stood silently in an anguish of unknowing, more aware than ever of his helplessness before them. He glanced across at his two children who watched, pale and subdued, wholly reliant upon him. How much of what was being discussed here did they understand?
He shook his head in a welter of emotion.
'The Soul of the Orb must be your one concern for now,' said Triune.
But now Leth was staring hard at Urch-Malmain. 'A moment! How can you know these things? You have been trapped here for so long. How can you know what Strymnia planned?'
'Simple!' The Noeticist raised his good hand, the bony forefinger erect. 'One of my first actions, upon engaging the services of Aztin and the other entities and agents and bringing them here to construct the Portal, was to have them locate Strymnia. I had an idea of her approximate and most likely whereabouts from long ago. Hence I installed a device, similar to that which Triune has lately used to spy upon me, and I spied on her. Her intentions, like her stratagems, became known to me before she discovered and destroyed the device. Hence, unbeknown to her, I was able to tamper.'
'And what form did your tamperings take?'
'Small but significant forms. Heh-heh! It was beautiful! When the brute she had created was activated and released, I was aware and waiting. With Aztin's help I 'plucked' him from the earth and brought him here.'
'And?'
'I altered his mind.'
'In what manner?'
Urch-Malmain spoke freely now, carried upon a wave of self-congratulation. 'Firstly, I had it recount its instructions in their entirety. When I had learned all there was to learn I proceeded to expunge all sense of loyalty to Strymnia. I wiped out every memory the brute had of the vile and deceitful Arch-Demoness, and severed the psychic bond between them. Hence both were blind, though the creature's original instructions I left intact. Then I let the creature go again.'
&nb
sp; 'You did not think to prevent it from impregnating an innocent maiden, raping and ultimately murdering her?'
'No. Why would I? I thought it amusing to allow the brute to perform its task, but have it disengaged from Strymnia. Thus she would be driven to a mighty rage, deprived of knowledge of what had transpired but desperate to discover at any cost. Moreover, the creature had within it something of her own essence. That, in the hands of a powerful and knowing enemy, could cause her extreme grief and discomfort.' Urch Malmain emitted a curt, uncontrollable whinny of pleasure.
'Yet you still let the creature go?'
'I planned for it to return, but by this time Ascaria was meddling seriously with the Portal. Perhaps it was at Strymnia's behest; perhaps she sensed something of what was happening. I know only that the creature was lost.'
'It seems to me that you had greater control of the Portal than you have previously led me to believe.'
'It was only at the beginning, before the Portal itself was constructed. And at great cost to myself, I might add. Aztin and his companion-entities have numerous talents.'
Leth grappled with his rage. 'So it is both the creature and the Legendary Child that Strymnia now seeks?'
'Indeed. When she knew that all had gone awry she created and sent forth a simulacrum to seduce and rouse the Karai to war.'
'But they have conquered the Mondane Kingdoms before coming to Enchantment's Reach. Why?'
'Presumably because those lands lay in their way. Perhaps also to hone their skills before pitching them against the greatest prize. But also, I must suppose, because Strymnia could not be certain whether the Child had been born in Enchantment's Reach or elsewhere.'
Aye, and there is that other something that she seeks, thought Leth, something which you claim lies within or beneath Orbia.
'Urch-Malmain, you are despicable. You could have prevented all this.'
'I know it,' replied the Noeticist blandly. 'But why would I want to?'
After a bristling silence Leth said, 'Was it sheer coincidence, then, that brought that monster to the sister of the Queen?'
Urch-Malmain chuckled. 'No. Strymnia's deviousness surpasses even my own. It was a mistake that the creature impregnated the Queen's sister, but not a coincidence. Its target was the Queen.'
'Issul?'
'Indeed. Ah, Swordbearer, there is murder in your eyes.'
'Tell me!' roared Leth.
'It is simple,' the Noeticist said. 'Strymnia entertained herself with the notion of having the Legendary Child born into your family. The Child would have been ostensibly your own, in line for the throne and yet primed to overthrow and destroy you at the proper time. It was sheer fickle fate, I believe, that led the creature to the wrong sister.'
A red mist was forming before Leth's eyes. He became aware of Triune's white hand upon his shoulder. 'Do not be rash, Leth. You can do nothing here.'
'Perhaps I should add one other thing,' concluded Urch-Malmain. 'I may as well tell you now, for you will know soon enough. My last action in regard to the Child was to send your dashing friend, in there, through the Portal.'
'Shenwolf?'
'Shenwolf.'
'Why? What connection has he with the Legendary Child?'
'None, directly. As I said before, it was partly to test the Portal. But, having lost the creature, I was also curious to see what was going on. I therefore gave him instructions to seek you out, enlist in your army, and in time report back to me. He knew nothing of it, of course. As far as he was aware he was simply following his own urgings, his own destiny.'
'You are a vile and conscienceless creature, Urch-Malmain.'
'Yes, you are right.' Urch-Malmain smoothed his good hand across his pate, not in the least insulted. 'But ohui! It is all a matter of perspective. Now, I am quite tired and would like to rest. Your proximity oppresses me. I have satisfied all your demands, I believe. Shenwolf awaits you, a new man - or perhaps an old one - if you wish to see him.'
ii
Shenwolf sat upon a wooden bench against one stone wall. He was slumped forward, his head hanging between his bowed shoulders, his elbows resting upon his long thighs.
'Aye, it’s true,' he affirmed bleakly. 'That is, as far as I now know it. But who can be sure of anything now?' He looked up at Leth with a woebegone expression. 'I swear to you, Sire, just as I swore to the Queen, upon my life and all that is sacred, I knew nothing of the real reasons why I was sent to Enchantment's Reach. I knew nothing of Urch-Malmain.'
Leth nodded soberly.'I know.'
'But there may be more. Who knows what the truth is? What you have just told me concurs with everything I have now learned about myself. Urch-Malmain has cleared my mind of the fog and falsehoods he had placed within it. But can we be sure that he has erased them all, or has not planted others in their place?'
Leth grimaced, understanding the dreadful uncertainty that rent Shenwolf's heart. He acknowledged the unpalatable truth in Shenwolf's statement: no matter the pressure they or any other might exert upon Urch-Malmain, the Noeticist could still, out of malice, caprice or sheer wilfulness, work undiscoverable mischiefs, planting suggestions or false memories deep within the psyche of any person he worked upon, including Shenwolf. They could not know, until such time as he chose to let them.
Leth said, 'Tell me briefly what you have learned of your background. Tell me of your family, your home, the events that culminated in your meeting Urch-Malmain.'
Shenwolf did so, and when he had finished Leth nodded with some satisfaction. 'It accords with what I know. Urch-Malmain has at least not led us false there.'
'Even so . . .' Shenwolf rose from the bench. 'What might yet lie sleeping within me? I can be sure of nothing, least of all myself.'
The phrase resonated uncomfortingly within Leth's mind. Sure of nothing. The Shore of Nothing…
And what might lie beyond its imponderable rim?
He gazed piercingly at Shenwolf. 'What are your plans now?'
'I have no choice, Sire. I can only leave you.'
'Are you so certain of that?'
Shenwolf's features were drawn, his eyes pained. 'Queen Issul feared it, as did Orbelon. And in essence nothing has changed. Any trust you put in me may be misplaced. We will not know until it is too late.'
'That may be so, but Urch-Malmain will not impetuously sabotage his own efforts to be free. He has spent too long awaiting this day to throw it all away upon a quirk of spite. If something lies within you that may yet bring grief or harm to myself or those dear to me, it will not manifest until after I have found the Soul of the Orb and he has absconded back to his lair in Enchantment.'
'But is not the search for the OrbSoul a task you must undertake alone, Sire?'
Leth sighed. 'I am given to understand so.'
'Then for my part I will return to my home, which I should never have left. I know, at least, that that is where I belong. Once there, I must be alert and watchful of every moment for fear that I may yet be about to hurt or destroy not only myself but those I love. In many ways it might be better if I stayed away.'
Leth shook his head. 'You are needed there.'
'I know it, and I will go. And Sire, there is something else I now know.'
'What is that?'
To Leth's surprise Shenwolf dropped onto one knee. He reached out and took Leth's hand. 'It has all returned to me. I know who you are.'
With the contact of his hand Leth felt a curious sensation, something subtle and almost subliminal, best likened to a psychic breath upon the hairs of his skin. He felt that something flowed out of him. It came from his centre, a ripple of rarefied energy, and poured along the length of his arm, passing to Shenwolf. In the same moment he half-sensed a subtle motion in the air. He thought of invisible wings. The air stirred, fluxed, was suddenly filled with barely-perceived movement.
Leth's thoughts flew back. He was waiting on Swiftwind's back in the service-yard of Orbia - the Orbia of Orbelon's World, that was Lakewander's home. They were
preparing for their second journey to the End of the World and beyond, to seek out and slay Ascaria. There had been a sudden outflowing of something, from within Orbia, from its stones and space and body. It had seemed that it had focused upon Leth, that something mysterious and indefinable had poured and fluttered from Orbia and surrounded, even entered, him. It had lasted only heartbeats, then all was still once more, leaving him wondering whether anything had really happened at all.
Now it was repeated. But this time it was from himself that the unseen wings poured. They filled the air, then flowed about Shenwolf, were absorbed into him and were gone.
All was still.
'What-- what is happening?'
Shenwolf released his hand and stood. His eyes shone and he was smiling. 'There is the confirmation. They are the souls of the Protectors that have just flowed from you. You brought them, for they were seeking me, to bring me back. Now I know that I will do no harm, at least not in my own home. It becomes clear now. I am the next Protector. I am joined with the souls of those who passed before me over many many eons. They will not permit me to commit wrong in Orbia.'
Leth was uneasy. 'You said you 'know' who I am.'
'You walk in the company of Destiny, Sire. You must have sensed something of that, with all that has befallen you and all that you have accomplished.'
'Here I know only what others have told me. I am not filled with optimism or enthusiasm.'
'There is purpose in everything,' said Shenwolf. 'Everything is interwoven. You are the Swordbearer, who came in answer to our plea. You have a role, here, still, in this world, and plainly in your own also. That is why you must seek the OrbSoul alone. But I can tell you no more, for I know only what I know. All else is for you to remember and discover.'
Remember!
On so many occasions that sentiment had been expressed to Leth since he had first arrived in Orbelon's World. As though he had been here before, long ago. Yet he had no sense either of remembrance or familiarity. This was an alien place. He wished only to do whatever had to be done so that he might return to his own world.
And yet . . . when, with Lakewander, he had first encountered Count Harg and his murderous gang. . . Menaced, Lakewander had bidden him summon the Orbsword, which lay upon the ground close by.
