The Shards

by Gary Alan Wassner

  As Bristar recapped the events of the past year, his strength seemed to return somewhat. His eyes perked up, and they began to sparkle once again. He seemed to sit straighter and taller in his chair, and his voice regained the fullness and confidence that had characterized it in the past. But then, as he mentioned Premoran, a cloud passed over him once more. His eyes grew dark and his expression was pained.

  “What is it, my husband?” Aliya asked.

  “There is something I have not told you all,” Bristar said gravely. “Now that you have confirmed that the beast is within our midst, I cannot keep it to myself any longer.”

  “Tell us, father,” Beolan urged.

  “The Armadiel is most definitely alive. I dreaded the possibility, but now I am certain that it is true. If we do not destroy him quickly, he will bring Crispen to its knees within weeks,” he grimaced. “The monster must be stopped! We cannot allow him to grow and expand his power. None of you know the nature of this beast. He is like no other living thing. His strength lies in his ability to infiltrate the very essence of the objects around him. They become like him-rock, water even the air we breathe. He transforms the character of things and turns them into extensions of his own evil and destructive power.”

  “How can you be certain that it is the snake of Recos who has been unleashed upon us?” Maringar asked.

  Bristar rubbed his whiskers. “My son described the walls in the cave as if they were breathing, as if they were alive! That was when my suspicions were confirmed. I had misgivings before then certainly, but no hard evidence to support my concerns. I did not want to allow my fear of what might be to color my interpretation of what really was. There were other signs as well, but they were more subtle. I visited the hillock and listened to the earth numerous times of late, and I felt the pain of change everywhere. But until today, I was unwilling to commit to its cause,” he said admitted. “Now I regret not accepting the counsel of my suspicious mind. If indeed the rock of Silandre has succumbed so soon, we are in more imminent danger than even I suspected. And that is not the worst of it.”

  “I am not sure, father, if the walls of the cave were shuddering because they were possessed or because they were resisting. It just seemed to me that they were active and alive.”

  The King sat up straight. “Rock is of this world. Though it is dense and less mutable, and certainly not sentient, it is as actively involved in the fabric of our existence as are the streams and forests. Anything that participates in nature is susceptible. Some elements resist naturally while others resist consciously. But make no mistake about it, all things resist for as long as they can. The Armadiel is stronger than anyone could imagine, and his strength lies in his ability to find the one weak link in the chain of life and attack it relentlessly, until its essence becomes raw and pliable,” Bristar explained.

  “Why has this monster been let loose upon us?” Aliya asked. “Other than to thwart the alliance and hinder our ability to assist our brethren in the quest, why Crispen?”

  “The answer to your question is what I have been leading up to, my dearest,” Bristar replied. “Before we left my brother in Seramour, I met with Premoran briefly. He came to me in the woods of Lormarion. At first, I thought it was a dream. I have told no one of this until now,” he related. “He told me that deep within the core of Silandre a key had been placed thousands of tiels ago. He told me that we must retrieve it now for it is the only thing that will unlock the gates to the chamber that they must reach in the dead city, and that we must deliver it to the bearer of the map in Odelot. Without this key, another quest cannot be accomplished, he warned. He said that the consequences of that would be most dire.”

  Bristar hung his head heavily, and Aliya put her arm around his broad back and hugged him tightly.

  “I sent you into the mountain fearing the worst, and you confirmed it,” he said to Beolan. “I had intended to tell you this and have you go in search of the key. But, I waited too long, and now the Dark Lord has taken advantage of my negligence.”

  “’Twas not your fault, husband,” Aliya consoled. “You have only just returned home. The beast you speak of did not arrive here yesterday.”

  “Yes, I know. But nonetheless, I could have been quicker in responding to the wizard’s request. We should have gone for the key immediately. Now it is too late. The beast may already have it,” he said, and he hung his head as if he had been defeated in a great battle and the weight of the loss was bringing him to his knees.

  “No, father. It is not too late! If the key we seek is in his possession, then we must kill the beast first, that is all!” Beolan countered. “And if it is not, then we will find it.”

  “How does one fight such a monster?” Maringar asked. “Tell us and we will rid the hills of it!” He slammed his fist on the table.

  “I do not know. I fear that there is no way. He is the nemesis of life itself,” Bristar said , shaking his head.

  “Surely father, we can find a way. We cannot just give up!” Beolan rejoined.

  “Husband!” Aliya snapped. “What has come over you? Do you think that you would have this key in your pocket right now had you jumped from your horse and ran to Silandre the moment you returned? No! The Monster was surely there before you even entered the gates of Crispen! I do not mean to criticize and compound the hurt that you are inflicting so aptly upon yourself. But, be reasonable!”

  “I need you, father! We all need you now,” Beolan said. “Mother is right! What we must do is find a way to defeat this enemy so that we can do as Premoran instructed. The battle is not over. It has only just begun! We will find this key, and Maringar and I will carry it to Odelot ourselves. I promise you that!” he said as Maringar tossed his head in agreement.

  Bristar looked at his son and smiled.

  “Forgive me,” he said. “Forgive me, all of you. What a fool I am being, feeling sorry for myself at a time like this.”

  Aliya sat up straight and put her delicate hands upon the table. “So, husband! Where do we begin?” she asked.

  “We must search the archives,” Bristar said, as his color returned to his cheeks. “Perhaps we will find a clue amidst the old parchments. But we must do so quickly. We have no time to waste. He has already started upon his path of destruction and no doubt, Caeltin has done more for him than merely unleash him from his prison in the bowels of the earth.”

  “With Maringar and his men to assist us, at least we will be able to penetrate the areas that would have been impossible for us to enter alone,” Beolan said gratefully.

  “Aye, that is true,” Bristar agreed. “Without the Daggerfalls and their people, it would have been the Armadiel who did the seeking. We are fortunate that our friends have lent us their support,” Bristar acknowledged. “And Caeltin could not have anticipated this.”

  Maringar accepted the compliments humbly, in keeping with his character. But he knew, as did the others, that the dwarves did not march for totally altruistic reasons. He blushed nevertheless, and his large nose and white cheeks turned red more easily than he would have expected himself.

  “You need not have come here solely to assist us,” Aliya said, sensing his discomfort. “Your actions are honorable even if they have a dual purpose. We accept the fact that the peril to us is a peril to all. The world is no longer as separate and apart as it was.”

  “Was it ever separate truly?” Maringar asked. “Or did we simply accept it as such? The trees held us together despite our reluctance to recognize our commonalities.”

  “Well said, Maringar. And now we must assume those responsibilities ourselves,” Bristar said.

  “Some of them, my dear,” Aliya replied. “The trees have not abandoned us entirely,” she reminded them.

  “No, but they fight a war of their own now,” Beolan said. “They are embroiled in battles we cannot observe.”

  “As was always the case, son,” the Queen replied.

  “Then why has the balance seemed to change so?” he asked.


  “I do not know,” she said solemnly. “Therefore the quest for the Gem has become paramount. The heir of legend, Davmiran, will find the answers for us all. If the light is withdrawn from this world, everything will die. Why the First would deprive us of our sustenance, I cannot begin to fathom.”

  “If Caeltin seeks the Gem as well, perhaps the First is merely protecting it from the Dark Lord’s iniquitous grasp by shielding it,” Beolan speculated. “If it does not radiate it would be harder to locate.”

  Bristar, Aliya and Maringar all looked at Beolan as if he had solved the riddle of the universe. It had never occurred to any of them that this privation could have been planned.

  “What an interesting thought, my son,” Bristar said, bending his head in contemplation.

  “Quite interesting!” the Queen agreed.

  “At the least, it is a more hopeful way of assessing the situation,” Maringar said.

  “It merely makes sense, that is all. Surely someone has speculated in this direction before me,” Beolan replied.

  “Frankly, it never did occur to me that this could be a defensive measure,” Aliya said. “I have always assumed that the light was being withheld from the world against the will of the First.”

  “The consequences are grave regardless of the reason” Beolan said. “Due to this deprivation, the trees are dying!”

  “A sacrifice perhaps?” Bristar asked.

  “That would be in keeping with what we have come to expect of the Lalas,” Aliya said.

  “They must suffer the loss of the Gem’s radiance too,” Beolan suggested. “The First must be aware of these consequences though.”

  “Is it the price that must be paid? Perhaps they suffer even more than we suspect,” Aliya added.

  “Could it be that the Gem’s light sustains them as the sun sustains ordinary plant life?” Maringar proposed.

  “And that without it, they cannot thrive?” Bristar continued on this train of thought.

  “Emotionally or physically?” Beolan asked his father.

  “Maybe both. The First’s role, as we have come to understand it, is to harbor and protect the Gem. The Gem is like the sun, but it nourishes the soul and the spirit. Caeltin knows this too, and he knows that if he can find the Gem of Eternity and destroy it, then life will cease altogether. We cannot survive with hearts as cold as stone. And the grass and trees and wildlife cannot survive if their spirits are stilled. The essence that defines them is nurtured and maintained by the Gem’s light. If the Gem ceases to shine, then dissolution will result,” Bristar explained.

  “But, father, if the First in its wisdom is protecting the Gem by concealing it and therefore the Lalas die, will not the world be more vulnerable in the end anyway? And won’t Caeltin then be even stronger?” Beolan asked.

  “It would seem so, my son. I cannot fathom the logic.”

  “The fabric weaves of its own will,” Aliya said. “New alliances are being created by virtue of theses changes. The heir has been revived and he too seeks the Gem. A twin to the heir has revealed himself! Change is afoot everywhere and it has been precipitated by what we have just described; by the First’s choice to withhold the Gem’s radiance from the trees and from the world.”

  “A crossroads,” Bristar said soberly.

  “More than that, father. A new age!” Beolan said.

  “That will come after the final battle is fought,” Bristar replied.

  “The heir must find the Gem before Colton does,” Maringar glowered. “There will be no other age if the Dark Lord prevails in that regard.”

  “Thus, we must triumph here against the Armadiel! The obstacles Caeltin continues to place in our way and in the way of our friends and allies can only serve to distract us from his true desire and his true goal. We must defeat the beast, and then focus our attention upon retrieving the key and continuing the Quest,” Bristar said.

  “The longer we are forced to defend ourselves, the less energy and time we will be able to devote to helping the boy,” Aliya agreed. “Surely he knows that.”

  They all sat in silence for a short while, contemplating what they had just discussed. Though it was mere speculation, it was beginning to appear to them all that such a situation was most likely prevailing. And in the wake of this possibility, the imminent threat loomed even greater upon their horizon, for every moment that they had to devote to eliminating it kept them from assisting the heir more directly.

  “I will get the Tomes and we must ponder them closely,” Aliya announced, rising from the table and walking to the large wall of books that stood nearby.

  Her movements were so graceful that it almost seemed as if she floated across the carpeted floor. She grasped a delicate ladder that hung from a bar that ran the length of the wall and she slid it to a point midway across the room. After climbing to the very top rung, she reached up, still some distance from the uppermost shelf, and she clasped a heavy book in her small hand. She then laid it carefully on the ladder and opened the thick cover. The lettering inside was bold and thick. After perusing it quickly, she nodded her head, and then with both hands, she lifted the volume and backed down the ladder carefully, step by step.

  “Join me,” she said as she brought it to the table. “Together maybe we will find something that will assist us here. This is the volume that describes the beast’s last encounter with our people.”

  “I have read it too many times,” Bristar said. “And each time I feared that this moment might come. It is as if the future has already occurred and I am just reminding myself of what happened.”

  Aliya began to turn the thick pages while the others looked on over her shoulders and read along with her. She scanned the lines quickly, searching for something that might be useful.

  “Stop mother!” Beolan said. “Turn back one page and read the last two lines for us,” he instructed her.

  She read:

  “‘A snake it is not, a snake it is,

  A strength? A weakness?

  What claim is his?’”

  “What do you make of those lines?” Beolan asked, his eyes bright with an idea.

  “It seems merely to be a description of the beast’s nature,” Bristar answered. “What strikes you about them?”

  “You have taught me, mother, that nothing in the Tomes is gratuitous. If the Armadiel is likened to a snake, then what are its vulnerabilities? Why bring up the issue of strength and weakness if not to reveal information?” Beolan speculated.

  “Thus,” Maringar continued, “it may draw both fortitude and exposure from its likeness to a reptile. We must then determine when a snake is most strong and when it is most vulnerable.”

  “In all the other passages that mention the monster, it is described quite differently. I had never imagined it to resemble a serpent,” Aliya said.

  “Even as a child,” Bristar recalled, “I was led to believe that it was more like the human species than a reptile.”

  “Need it resemble a serpent in looks in order for it to share a reptile’s characteristics?” Beolan asked.

  “In my land, we always referred to it as the ‘Snake of Recos’. I always assumed it resembled the reptile species,” Maringar said. “It is strange that you never did,” he said to Bristar and Aliya.

  “Read the next line, mother, if you would.”

  “‘Renewal is its gift to keep,

  What harm it sustains, pain so deep,

  Gone with the old,

  No time to weep,

  Who fathoms well the depth of sleep?’”

  “What is renewal for a snake?” Beolan almost shouted.

  “Birth? Egg laying?” Aliya suggested.

  “Mating?” Maringar offered.

  “Shedding its skin!” Beolan cried.

  Bristar, Aliya and Maringar all gaped at Beolan.

  “Keep reading, please,” he said to his mother with a renewed urgency. Aliya continued where she had left off.

  “‘To end the pain and begin aga
in,

  A moment simply,

  A sly refrain,

  What looks like slumber may not be such,

  A lapse perhaps,

  A formative rush,

  Be quick, be strong,

  Be bold, be tough,

  A time to ply the killing touch.’”

  As soon as she read the final word, Beolan slapped the table once more with his open hand. “You see?” he asked. “It could not be clearer! When the Armadiel sheds its skin it can be killed!”

  “By the First, I think you may be right!” Bristar concurred, and he grabbed his son around his shoulders and hugged him tightly.

  “Regardless of whether it resembles a snake in its appearance, it renews itself by losing its outer layer. Thus it can slough off what harm may have been inflicted upon it and constantly return to battle as if it had never been injured. Do you remember the stories that terrified me the most when I was a child, Father?” he asked Bristar, recalling now what he thought were merely folk tales, and the King nodded. “I had nightmares about the Armadiel because it seemed so impossible to me that no matter what was thrown against it, it prevailed. It was burned in fire, blasted by magic, its skin was frozen under tons of ice and snow, it sustained arrow after arrow and blade after blade, yet when it came back to battle it appeared as if it had never been attacked at all. Its battle scars were gone completely!”

  “I too, feared this monster for similar reasons. But the fact that it could pervert nature by robbing it of its natural affinities disturbed me even more,” Bristar recounted.