Tressida flew down to the low ground where Cerah still stood. They looked around where the bodies of the monsters had fallen. What had appeared at first to be the lingering of the light that had been their demise, now proved to be a vast field of shimmering gold. “Look, Tress,” Cerah said as the queen lighted beside her. “Ma’uzzi has even provided the army’s reward. This will be gathered and distributed to them as they prepare to return to their homes.”
“He has provided for us every step of the way, though often we failed to see,” the dragon said. Cerah reached down and retrieved Isurra, which had come to rest by her feet, then climbed upon Tress’s back and they returned to the top of the cliff.
A moment later a rider landed beside Tressida, and Ban hopped from its back. He ran to his mother, overjoyed and amazed that she had survived. The rider called out apologetically. “He would not let me leave him,” he said. “He refused to dismount and insisted that I bring him back, that he might save his mother!” Slurr and Cerah joined them. As she stood beside her family, Cerah looked all around her, both at the vast sea of shining gold, and at her own warriors, of whom not a single man or woman had raised a sword, or had been lost. From among them stepped her brother Martan and her father Jerund.
Cerah chose that moment to whisper into her husband’s ear, “I am so sorry for the loss of your dear friend. I know nothing can minimize the pain of his being taken, but there is one more thing…I carry your twin children in my womb.”
Slurr couldn’t speak. He swept his wife into his arms and lifted her off the ground. His tears, shed for the death of Kern, now mixed with new tears…of joy. Finally, he managed to stammer, “Children…twins…you…me…”
Laughing, Cerah placed her hand over his mouth. “Shh. You sound like the oaf you used to pretend to be when you hid your true self.” Even as Slurr continued to hold her aloft, Cerah finally allowed herself to believe what was clearly the truth.
The evil had been vanquished. The War for Quadar was ended.
At that moment, a thousand miles away on the Isle of Melsa, all the wizards who remained upon the island had been brought together by Lycantra in Harrow’s Hall to call out to Ma’uzzi for the protection of the Army of Quadar. Every day since she had come back from Onesperus, her conviction had grown that the two forces would soon meet, and she told her brethren that although the outcome was in His hands, it would not hurt to entreat Him for their safety.
As they sat in the great Hall, they were suddenly surprised to feel the building begin to shake. They poured outside, fearful that it might collapse upon them, as the earthquake grew in intensity.
What they could not know, however, was that far off in the Zandarian Mountains, on the highest peak, the mighty Quarada, within the sacred cave Onesperus, the Cavern of Sighs was in fact the epicenter of the tremor. The grotto of the damned, now, and forever more, void of human spirits, shook violently for several minutes. Finally the cave could no longer resist the trembling. The ceiling of the chamber collapsed, and the Cavern of Sighs was no more. Despite the forceful tremors no other section of the cave was damaged or altered, but the antechamber now had one opening only, the portal to the Hall of Whispers.
Within it, though no ears were there to hear, the great wizards of the past gave thanks to Ma’uzzi, and praised the name of Cerah, the Chosen One.
22
Going Home
That night the warriors and wizards gathered around several huge bonfires and songs of victory and praise filled the air. They had not brought many provisions with them during the march to Andoor, but what remained was shared freely as the victory celebration went on till nearly dawn.
Ban watched as the men and women who had come to the cliffs prepared to lay down their lives now rejoiced knowing that truly their lives would soon begin again, now in a world where the threat of darkness no longer hung above their heads.
But when he looked at his brother’s face, Ban saw the joy of victory and the news that he was to be a father was tempered by the devastating loss he had suffered. Although Ban had not witnessed Kern’s demise and although he’d learned that Slurr had in fact not seen it either, he knew it would take a long time for his brother to come to terms with the reality that his dearest friend was no more.
Still Slurr managed to smile as his soldiers celebrated. The general held his bride’s slender hand in his large one, and reveled in the warmth of it. Since receiving the grim news, Slurr had received many condolences from his captains, from other warriors, and from many wizards, most notably Parnasus and Yarren. But it was the touch of his wife’s hand that soothed him most. She spoke very little, knowing her words, though laced with good intentions, would do little to combat Slurr’s grief. But her simple act of touching him seemed to help more than anything she could have said.
Cerah had sent the wizards of Melsa to the plain where Surok’s army had been destroyed, instructing them to gather the golden nuggets that littered the low ground. When they had, and brought it to the cliff top, the pile that was formed reached high above the heads of the tallest men. Even the mighty Loar Pilta was dwarfed by it. As the celebration rolled on, Parnasus himself had magically divided the treasure into equal portions. Though more than one warrior had joined the army holding a vague hope of being rewarded, none could have imagined the riches they would be given for their service. Many of the men and women who had fought had come from impoverished backgrounds, but none who danced and sang that night would ever have to worry about the source of their next meal again.
Russa had spent most of the night tending to the grief stricken Milenda. The heartbroken wizard could not understand how, in the face of the great victory, her fate could be so cruel. She and Kern had fallen in love when they were both young, and during the decades of their training that love had only grown. But Kern had answered the call, along with many other of the best and brightest of Melsa’s youth, to fight the Stygians and the Silestra that had come to their aid. Although she’d been told that Kern had survived the war, he never returned to the island. Until the day he brought the Chosen One. How her heart had rejoiced to see him again! In the months that Cerah trained, their romance had been rekindled, and Kern had promised her that when Surok was defeated, they would at last marry.
Now that would never come to pass. Russa, who knew spells that could heal just about any kind of wound or ailment, knew no magic that could mend a broken heart. But she had poured her love and comfort upon Milenda, hoping to pull her back from the precipice of total despair. It was while trying to sooth her that Russa’s hand had passed across her stomach. Just as had happened when attempting to diagnose what had been ailing Cerah a few days before, her eyes flew open in surprise.
“Milenda,” she said, “I know that nothing will take away the heartbreak you’re suffering, but I have to tell you something.”
The grieving wizard looked at Russa. “What? Tell me, Russa.”
“You have life within you. Like the Chosen One, you are with child.”
Milenda’s sad eyes fluttered as the news bored through her despondency. “What did you say?”
“Kern’s child grows within you.”
Milenda’s own hands now moved to her abdomen. She looked into the beautiful wizard’s eyes, a trace of something other than sorrow creeping across her face. “Are you sure? Could this be true?”
“I am certain.”
Milenda lifted her eyes to the sky, and offered a prayer of thanksgiving to Ma’uzzi. “I have lost my love,” she said, “but you have given me a part of him which evil cannot touch!”
Russa now put her arm around Milenda’s shoulders, and the two wizards sat together in the warmth of the huge fire, and watched the celebration that was occurring all around them. For the first time that day, Milenda smiled.
Preena was still recovering from the trauma of having been taken by the Silestra. It had been a matter of cruel chance that a small platoon of Silestra had broken off from the column, following the direction of the Mouthpie
ce, who had been himself informed by Surok that something dear to the boy-general flew west. How the demon could know this was unclear, perhaps his mother Pilka had seen with her godlike vision that Ban and Preena had been sent away.
Regardless of how, the Silestra had been waiting when the riders landed outside the village of Meera. They had surged forward, taking the wizards by surprise. The rider who had escorted Preena was killed by three of the vile creatures and Preena had been captured. Only the fact that the rider had fought back with all that he had gave Ban’s escort the opportunity to spur his dragon skyward immediately. As the Silestra had dragged Preena away, she had heard Ban’s cries quickly diminish as the wizard whisked him out of danger.
But thanks to Zenk’s redeeming sacrifice she had been spared at the last possible moment. Her daughter-in-law’s strong magic had pulled her from among the pernicious creatures and carried her back to the clifftop, where she watched in shock as Ma’uzzi’s hand moved across the valley floor.
As she sat with her family, she leaned toward Ban and whispered in his ear. “What do you think of Ma’uzzi now?” she asked, laughing.
To her surprise, Ban began to weep. “I grieve that I ever doubted Him,” he managed to say. “I saw proof of His love everywhere, but I wanted more.”
“He is gracious,” Preena said. “Even to a doubting little boy. There were many prayers answered today. Mine was among them. Ever since Jul’s spirit touched mine, I have wished for you to be able to feel what I felt in that moment. Do you feel it now, Ban? Have you opened yourself at last?”
“Yes, mother. How could I deny Him now?”
Preena pulled her young son close to her and held him in her arms. “I’m sure yours were not the only eyes opened this day, but they are the eyes that matter most to me.”
Parnasus had also been feeling conflicted emotions as the night wore on. His grief over the loss of Kern was as deep as any, for in Kern he had seen a possible successor to the office of First Elder. His love and admiration for his student had been immense. But he was also joyful at the victory that had occurred before his eyes. Never in his wildest imagination had he dared suppose that Ma’uzzi would move in such a mighty manner, sparing the lives of every solider of the Army of the Light. In the days leading up to the confrontation, he had assumed that, even if they’d somehow been victorious, the army would had seen tremendous losses.
After sitting by himself for several hours, Parnasus walked to where Cerah was sitting. She and Slurr were resting against Tressida’s side as they often did. He sat facing them.
“Well, Cerah of Quadar, what now? Will you return with me to Melsa and raise your family on our green shores?”
“Melsa is my home, Elder,” she said. “I can think of no other place among the Green Lands that would be a more perfect place for my children to live. But…”
“But? But what, then?”
“My husband’s life will not be complete without his mother and brother. You have welcomed him among the wizards because, as you made clear on our wedding day, he augmented my completeness. He is part of me. But apart from that exception, humans cannot dwell on Melsa, and without them near he will not be happy.”
Parnasus smiled. “Cerah, I am First Elder of the wizard race. It is I who decides what is and is not allowed on Melsa. While it is true that no humans have ever permanently dwelt on our island, there is no way I could ever deny the mighty general Slurr the joy of being with his newly discovered family. Preena and Ban will be most welcome.”
Cerah literally leapt across the ground to Parnasus and threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Elder! None of us will soon recover from losing Kern, Slurr least of all. But this news will surely make him glad.” She turned to look at Slurr, whose face was beaming.
“What do you think, Lug?”
“I cannot imagine being more honored. Thank you, Parnasus.”
“The honor will be ours. The wizards of Melsa will be most blessed by the presence of your family among us.”
In the morning the sky was bathed in pink and gold, as Vellus arose for the first time upon a Quadar free of the evil sway of Pilka and her Anger. Though weary from the night-long celebration and weighed down by their portion of the treasure Ma’uzzi had bestowed, the warriors of the Light began the long march back to the ships anchored at Hallar. Slurr, in his last act as General of the Army, would sit with Renton, in his last act as Admiral of the Fleet, and determine the distribution of the warriors upon the ships. A part of the treasure set aside for the sea captains and their crew would be distributed, and then they would help load the fighting men and women onto the vessels one final time, from whence they would be brought not to war, but to their homes.
While it was true that the distance was great, the trek across Kier was not difficult. For although their packs were heavy, their hearts were not. In reality the celebration never stopped, for every inch of the journey was marked by laugher and singing.
For the first time in many months, as the warriors marched no dragons flew overhead. Once their final duties were completed Cerah released the riders and riderless alike, and told them to go home to Melsa and rejoin their loved ones, even as the army prepared to join theirs. Yarren and Parnasus would remain, for once the ships were loaded the younger wizard would carry Ban, and the First Elder would escort Preena, as they flew from Kier to Melsa.
But the wizards and dragons had not flown of at once. Instead they walked alongside the warriors as they moved north. Parnasus spoke with as many of the soldiers as he could, telling them all that their service to Quadar would be memorialized on the walls of the sacred cave Onesperus.
After many days, they came at last to Hallas. Now most of the wizards did fly home, and the monumental task of coordinating the warriors’ return to their many homelands began, taking two full days. But at last all the details were sorted out and nailed down. Renton stood on the shore as one last boat waited to carry him to the Marta. With him stood Slurr. The two men had formed a strong bond in the course of their adventures and neither was eager to say goodbye to the other. But at last Renton said, “Well my most honored deckhand, it seems the time has come for us to say farewell.”
Slurr nodded his head sadly. “Farewell, but not goodbye. I trust that the events of the past year will have changed the way men of the sea feel about the Isle of Melsa. You will come from time to time again to that place I hope?”
“Do you forget? I alone was the only captain brave enough to hazard a journey to bring you to Melsa. All the others feared the mention of its name! So, yes. I will sail the Marta from time to time into the wizard’s gaily decorated harbor. I trust there are many who have served with you who may wish to hire a sturdy vessel to come visit their former general.”
“That is good. That is very good,” said Slurr, extending his hand to Renton.
The captain laughed and swatted Slurr’s hand away, throwing his arms around the large boy instead. “Be well, Slurr.”
“Be well, Adaan.”
Renton stepped into the waiting boat, and the oarsmen rowed away. Slurr watched for a moment, then turned and walked to where Cerah waited with the other wizards and the rest of his family.
“Do you know what, Cerah?” he said as his wife slid her arm around his waist. “I believe I’ve done enough travelling for a while. For the first years of my life I saw nothing but the people of the Softer and the mountain where you tended the agorrah. In the past year I have seen more of the planet than I ever dared imagine I would. But now I am ready to return to our cottage.”
“Yes, I feel the same way. We’re going to need to make it bigger you know.”
“You’re right. It was the perfect love nest for a pair of newlyweds, but with two children running around we’ll be falling all over ourselves.”
“I think I’m up to the task of conjuring us an annex. And a place for Ban and Preena as well. I’ll set it up right near ours.”
“Not too near,” said Slurr, smiling. “We are still youn
g lovers after all. We’ll need our privacy.”
“Enjoy your privacy now, for once the twins are born that will be a thing of the past.”
“I intend to enjoy every minute of it.”
Yarren and Parnasus approached them, and the First Elder said, “I believe you two have done all that needs doing. Are you ready to go home?”
Cerah nodded. “Yes. I’m ready to start preparing for motherhood. And I’m ready to stop being the Chosen One.”
Parnasus shook his head. “Cerah. You must realize that even though the evil has been destroyed, you will ever be the Chosen One. You are capable of things no other on Quadar can even imagine, let alone do. You have, quite literally, changed the world. You’ve transformed the Free People from a lax, hedonistic race, to one that knows their Creator lives and loves. You’ve made the wizard race welcome on each of the Ten Continents, after hundreds of years of seclusion. You’ve wiped out poverty in the lives of tens of thousands. Nothing on Quadar will ever be the same. No, Cerah, you will not stop being the Chosen One.”
This notion perplexed her, though she recognized the truth in what the First Elder said.
“Still,” Parnasus continued, “I don’t think any being that walks the Green Lands will deny that you’ve earned your peace. Return to Melsa. Prepare, as you said, for motherhood, though I must stress that is not a role for which I can train you.”
Cerah laughed. “No, I don’t suppose it is. But I have many stellar examples upon which to model myself. Preena will be with me, as will your own wonderful mother. And of course, I may speak with my mother any time I feel like flying with Tress to Quarada.”
“Yes, I have no fears that you will be alone or uncounseled in your newest role.”
A Single Candle (Cerah of Quadar Book 3) Page 34
