Wildling

by Curtis, Greg

  Still that was a question for another time. For the moment he was just glad to be sitting by the fire with a friend. It was something that didn't happen often enough.

  Chapter Thirty Six.

  Why? That was the question that kept plaguing Dorn. Why did he have to keep enduring these history lessons? And in his sleep! He was getting tired of it. Literally. No matter how many wonders of the ancient elven world the teacher showed them and how much she told them of her people, he really just wanted to sleep. And that was an irony in itself. Why couldn't he sleep while he was dreaming? He didn't know. But he knew even as he dreamed that he was awake somehow. And that she wouldn't have allowed him to sleep. Not while she was teaching him.

  Lady Sylfene – and now he knew it was her even though he could still make out not a single thing about her in his dreams – was determined to drum the ancient knowledge into his head. And he was sure, into the heads of the other students – whether they wanted it or not. If she failed in any way because he was trying to rest or not paying attention, his mother was always nearby watching, and she would make sure he did as instructed.

  So he had learned endless screeds about the ancient city of Arrol Der Terris. He had been shown it in all its ancient wonder. As it had been before the fall of the ancient world.

  And it had been a wonder. He had also been shown the city as it was now, a ruin of vast scale. But strangely, still a wonder even as it now was. Gone might be the citadel, the towers, the wide streets with their endless magnificent buildings stretching out to the horizon, the massive sculptures and art works, and of course the millions that had called the city home. But still, to look out from the hills over that vast expanse of fallen rubble and half collapsed buildings was incredible.

  He had been taught about the chamber of souls within the citadel and its thousands of years of history. He had seen it as it had been, and as the teacher hoped it would one day be again. He had seen the hundreds if not thousands already at work slowly starting to rebuild it. He had even been taught about the great oaths and prayers that had been spoken when it had first been built. The binding of the elves to the world and the world to them. And he even understood what had gone wrong – sort of. That the great oaths and prayers had been broken and the world and the elves with them.

  Dorn had thought that that would be the end of the lessons. He had hoped. But he had been wrong. It seemed that after weeks of listening to her lessons about Arrol Der Terris and the rest of Terris Lee, it was just time for a new topic. The teacher had moved on to Deri ti Millen, the wastes as they were now known.

  He was tired! Didn't she understand that? He had caravans to escort through dangerous lands all the way to Balen Rale. Caravans containing his family. He needed to rest. When he slept he needed to actually sleep.

  But no, she didn't understand that. Nor did she care. And so now it was night after night of listening to lessons about the ancient cities of the wastes. Cities that were not even ruins any longer. And when she'd finally finished with them he expected it would be Tellur el Ve's turn. There was no end in sight.

  This night it was the turn of the Lake of Moons, Garen Fell to be explored, and he was becoming worried. Now it wasn't just cities it was lakes. But he had to listen. He wasn't being given a choice.

  “Garen Fell was more than a lake. It was the heart of the world. The mountain lake formed between the thirteen peaks of the thirteen gods. Those peaks themselves are in the very heart of Deri ti Millen, and Deri ti Millen is at the very centre of the world. It in turn is bordered on all sides by other lands.”

  In short Dorn realised, it was in the very heart of the wastes, which in turn were ringed by the Eteris mountains. And while it might be pretty, it was far too dangerous to ever visit. The monsters of the central wastes were said to be a thousand times worse than those of the outer wastes in which he lived. In fact many claimed that the monsters they dealt with were the ones that had fled from the central wastes because they were too weak to live there. Even to get to them you had to go through the ranges themselves and face down the goblin hordes, trolls and rocs.

  “To the north lies Terris Lee. To the east Faren Gar, the island kingdoms you now know as Enderly. In the south Tellur el Ve. And to the west Villie Arne which has become Alador and the White Plains.”

  So what? was Dorn's thought. It was a mountain lake in the middle of nowhere which was in turn also in the middle of everywhere. In the end it was just a lake. But he had to admit that it was beautiful. As she showed them the lake as it had been – a perfect, almost circular mountain lake a dozen leagues across, he had to admit it was a glorious sight. With the sun breaking through the mountains to shine down on it it looked like the touch of the divine. And when the moon in all its glory was reflected perfectly in its still waters he suspected it was more so. It was cold though. The fog lifting off it in the mornings might look pretty, but he knew it would be chilling. But then what did you expect in the mountains? Ice and snow – that was what.

  “Twice each year the high priests of the thirteen would gather at its shores, beneath the shadows of their god's mountains and speak their blessings into its waters. Under the midday sun of the longest day, and the midnight moon of the longest night.”

  “But no more.” She spoke the last with sadness and he didn't have to ask why. Not when she showed them the lake as it now was. Empty and dead. A lake bed full of dirt and ancient bones. The remaining water only a puddle. The lake now had a chasm in its very centre. When the world had been torn asunder the lake had been destroyed as well. And in the end he guessed that was no different to the rest of the world.

  She had shown them the other lands as they had once been and as they now were, and he had seen with his own eyes how terrible the destruction had been. The cities hadn't been destroyed by any deliberate intent as far as he could tell. No wildcasts had thrown fire or storm at them. No war machines had levelled them. They had been destroyed because the land under them had been broken, and against the violence of that destruction no building could stand. No tower, no castle, no house and no city.

  How that could have happened he didn't know. He had heard that there were lands where the earth shook and buildings fell down. But he'd never heard that it could be all the lands that shook at once or that the destruction could be so complete.

  “When the destruction befell the world, the great chasm was opened and the water in the lake fell into it. And this is all that remains. But when the chamber of souls is rebuilt and the blessings remade, it is hoped that the chasm will close again, and that the rains and the snows will refill Garen Fell.”

  Something in her words bothered Dorn, and for the longest time he didn't know what. Everything she said made sense. He could see the terrible rift in the lake bed for himself. And yet he knew it was wrong. Somewhere, somehow it was wrong. And then unbidden he remembered the Dican army he'd come across heading with their war machines into the heart of the wastes, and he knew why they were marching into the heart of the wastes. He understood everything.

  “No!” The denial was forced from him as he realised the obvious truth. She had it backwards!

  The fall hadn't been what caused the lake to drain. The lake's unexpected draining had been what caused the fall.

  “Lady!” He called to her as best he could. But in his dreams he had no voice. None that he could hear anyway. Still, she heard him. She always did, whether he meant to say something or not. That was the problem with this dreaming place. He spoke without meaning to and was heard when he said nothing.

  “Child, are you interrupting the lesson again?”

  At least his mother wasn't there as she normally was to apologise for him. But he knew she wouldn't be far away. And she wouldn't be happy. Still, as the understanding flowed through him he had to tell her. He had to tell someone.

  “You've got it backwards. The draining of the lake wasn't caused by the fall. It is what caused the fall. The lake drained causing the fall. The fall caused the shattering
of the land and the breaking of the people. The people did not break their bond. They were formed of the bond. All men are after all part of the earth beneath their feet and part of the heavens. When the bond broke they were broken with it.”

  “But that's -.”

  “True.” He cut her off before she could argue and he guessed he would be in trouble for it. But she had to listen. She had to hear.

  “It's why the sun elves in thousands of years of searching Terris Lee could find no clue as to what happened. They looked for something that the people had done. But the people had done nothing. They had not broken the bond or shattered the chamber of souls. The fall came upon them instead and the bond and the people were broken because of it.”

  “And the fall destroyed the chamber of souls and the cities. But there is no answer in them either. Not in its rebuilding. The chamber of souls is but an echo of the lake. An afterthought. The formalising of the bond between the people, the gods and the land. But the original bond was there first, long before it was given the words of people. Long before there were people. It is the bond between the gods and the world. That which binds them. And the bond with the people arises from it as do the people come from the land and the gods. And the strength of that bond was always held in the lake.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “I don't know but I know I'm right.”

  And he did. He could see the entire saga unfolding in front of him. He knew the players and their parts.

  “And I also know that the lake was the connection between the mountains and the chasm. The link between the gods and the world. The chasm was always part of that lake. The mountains of the gods linked by the water of the lake down through the chasm to the heart of the world. When the lake drained that connection was broken. The gods were cast adrift, largely unable to touch the world. And eleven high priests were cast adrift with them.”

  The Lady made a wordless non-committal sound, either understanding the truth of his words or thinking he'd gone mad. But at least she didn't interrupt. And he had so much more to tell her.

  “Two high priests remained however, and it was not by coincidence. The high priests of the two gods that had brought about the draining of the lake planned to survive. The high priests of Dica and Talos. The gods' servants did something, perhaps broke down a wall between the mountains or dug a channel to let the lake drain. And they did it because they believed their gods would prosper in the world when the others were absent. Even when that powerful connection was broken.”

  “Each god had his own plan to survive the calamity and grow. And though they worked together, each planned ultimately to rule alone.”

  “So Talos made his followers wear amulets, believing that millions of amulet wearing followers would forge as strong a connection to him as the lake did. He was both right and wrong. It did work for a time. But not as he expected. The connection was frail. Talos was no longer connected directly to the world but indirectly through his followers. When his followers killed one another off he no longer had millions of amulet wearing followers. And no connection with the world through the lake. Over thousands of years he became as greatly weakened as the other eleven gods.” And he must have been angered by that Dorn thought. Angry but helpless to do anything about it.

  “Dica though believed that the terrible fear that would follow the fall would instantly bring him all the people that walked the world. That through their fear he would immediately rule alone. He was completely wrong. The people were frightened. But they did not turn to him for protection from their fear and he was left instantly powerless.” And he too must have been so angry when he found himself floating in the heavens like the other gods. Cast adrift.

  “That only changed when some of his ancient temples were restored and his worship was restarted fifty or a hundred years ago. Through them he once more had a bond with the world. A bond that started growing in strength as his followers grew in number. He had little power but he used it to grow. The more there were the more powerful he became. And he was alone in the world.”

  “And now he thinks to rule the heavens and the lands through his religion. Through his followers instilling fear everywhere. He intends to rule it alone. After all twelve of the thirteen gods are all but powerless. He rules because he is all that remains in the world.”

  “You can't prove any of this!” Lady Sylfene sounded worried for some reason. As if he was making baseless accusations. But she was also listening – and as he suddenly realised – giving him the chance to back up his words.

  “But I can Lady. Because I know what this war is about. I know why it's been waged. And it has nothing to do with a drought.”

  “You see in all his dreams Dica did not allow for one thing. That the damage his ancient followers did to the lake would be slowly repaired. That whatever they tore down would eventually be rebuilt by time. Perhaps the channels cut to drain the lake have become blocked. Maybe the earth has slipped a little more and rubble from the mountains has reformed a little of the wall that holds the lake in.”

  “Whatever it is, some months back enough water had returned to the lake from the rains and the snows of winter that the eleven were returned. Some of the ancient connections were suddenly reforged. And that has frightened both Dica and Talos. Eleven against two, they know that they cannot stand firm against the others. Especially when Talos is as weak as the others.”

  “So they acted. Knowing that that was coming they invaded the wastes, always with one goal in mind. To make sure that the lake would never be refilled. That the water of the lake could not connect the gods with the heart of the world again. So they sought to conquer the wastes and hunt down the wildlings living in them. To obliterate any possible opposition to them. To destroy the shrines to the other eleven. To weaken them while they can. And eventually to amass a combined army large enough to push all the way through to Garen Fell. And there to make certain that the lake was destroyed forever.”

  “They failed. They were not able to conquer the wastes. But still they intend to prevent the lake from refilling. At any cost. Even Talos who now finds himself vastly weakened. Because if it is refilled they will be two against eleven. Their treachery will be known. And they fear that. So now they have given up destroying the other shrines. And the conquest of the wastes has also been forgotten. It is too late for that. The strength they might gain from conquest is less than the strength they will lose in the battle and they cannot divide their forces any longer. They cannot fight the people of the wastes, hunt down wildlings, destroy the shrines to the other eleven and push forward into the heart of the wastes. Especially when their armies fight each other. The weakness of the bond between the gods and their people meant that that could not be prevented.”

  “So now Dica is acting alone. His armies have destroyed Talos' armies easily and he has grown in confidence in his military might. But no matter how strong his armies have become, he still fears standing alone against the other gods. He fears that above all. So greatly that the army he's forging is not even there to defend his temples. It has only one purpose. He sends his soldiers directly into the central wastes by themselves. First and above all they must prevent Garen Fell refilling. So that is what they are doing.”

  “And do you you have a single piece of evidence to support this?”

  “Yes. Two or three weeks ago I came across a small army of Dicans pushing their way northward through the wastes with a dozen and a half war machines. Heading directly for the centre of the wastes. I did not know then why they travelled that way since there were no towns and cities to conquer. But now I do. The war machines are not to level cities, but to destroy the lake walls. The soldiers are there not to fight but rather to defend the war machines as they roll through the wastes and when they reach their destination, to dig. I would wager that there are many more on their way. Soldiers with picks and war machines without number. This is the Dican army and it is not being built to defend their cities.”

  “If
they are not stopped there will be no reborn world.”

  “We have had reports of other small armies heading north.” The Lady sounded hesitant. As if unsure of what she was saying. “We wondered, but we thought they would turn to the east or the west before they reached the Eteris Ranges.”

  “They will not. They will need to be stopped instead.”

  “We cannot stop them. The distance is too great and we don't know exactly where they are. Where they will come together. And I do not know that you are right. I fear you may be, but I don't know.”

  “But I do.” And he did. He didn't know how he did, but as he sat there in that dream outdoor class Dorn knew absolutely. And he also knew what needed to be done.

  “Lady Sylfene, you can check on my words. Send out scouts to follow the tracks of the armies. Dreamwalk with any in the southern cities you can reach to see if the armies are still there. Speak with others of the eleven and pray that they may speak with their fellow priests. But that will take time. Time we do not have.”

  “So while you do that another force will need to be prepared. One that can cover a lot of ground very quickly. One that can fight. One that can slow them down.”

  “We can meet at the foothills by the northern pass through the Eteris Ranges. And by then you should have all the knowledge you need.”

  “You intend to fight with them?” She seemed surprised.

  “Yes Lady. I will stand with my brothers and defend my people.” It wasn't even a decision for him. That choice had been made long ago. He didn't know when.

  There was silence for a bit after that as the Lady considered his words. And he suspected as she tried to decide whether he was right or crazed. But eventually she came to a decision.

  “What will you need?”

  “Lady, I will need as much white wrath as can be delivered to me. Someone to bring my family to the temple safely. And allies. Shifters. We are the only ones who will be able to travel through the heart of the wastelands quickly and safely. The only ones who can fight our way through and then fight whatever awaits us when we get there.”