by Philip Blood
The proclamation stated:
Attention citizen's of Lindankar.
By foul treachery, the country of Olsk has sent agents into the city of Tarnelin. These agents bribed officers of the Lindankar militia and certain servants of the Royal palace staff. Four days ago they conspired with these traitors to assassinate Lord Ardellen in the palace. By chance Lord Ardellen escaped and killed three of the assassins.
On the same day, at approximately the same time, Lady Elizabeth and Shaard Michael were abducted. Efforts to recover them have met with failure and word has reached Lord Ardellen that they have both met their fate at the hands of the Olsk agents.
After questioning each suspected servant and officer our ruler uncovered the plot and imprisoned those guilty of treason. According to the laws of this country the traitor’s heads shall be struck from their bodies at noon in the central square.
Lord Jatar Ardellen declares this city in a state of mourning for thirty days. He has also proclaimed this country at war with Olsk and volunteers for the army of retribution will be accepted at the main barracks.
May G’lan have mercy on Lady Ardellen and the young Shaard Michael and ease their spirits' journey down the river.
This proclamation is signed by Lord Jatar Ardellen, ruler of Lindankar.
Major Harland Von Dracek walked up behind the back of Lord Jatar’s body. CAracusS was standing on a balcony looking out at the front of the palace where a herald had just finished reading his proclamation. People were running around the streets and spreading the news like a fire through dry wheat.
Von Dracek scratched at his short beard and said, “Wasn’t that proclamation a bit premature or did you receive confirmation from the Darknull?”
“Oh, I’m sure they are dead, but the Baron has not yet returned. He is probably relaxing in a dark place after his meal. He will return to the gate tonight after dark,” replied the necromancer.
“Call me a pessimist, but I’m going to continue assuming they escaped until their deaths are confirmed. Now, it’s obvious that they were heading for the Kirnath School. Actually, it’s too obvious; therefore, it may have been a ruse to make us concentrate our efforts on the school. Still, just in case that really was their destination I’m going to alert Raven."
CAracusS raised one of Jatar's eyebrows in question at the mention of their spy within the Kirnath School.
“Lady Elizabeth wouldn’t count on our having a spy within her precious school, the Kirnath don’t believe a spy is possible. They think their mind screening methods cannot be bypassed; I proved them wrong yet again,” Von Dracek said while flicking imaginary dust from a finger tip.
“Don’t you think it unwise to jeopardize the spy’s cover by sending a message through the pickup spot when it may not be necessary? We will get confirmation this evening, so you could at least wait until then,” CAracusS suggested.
“I’ll wait until evening, but if your slimy creature has not returned I’m sending Raven a message by stirglik. I think I’ll also dispatch more soldiers; they might get lucky while the sorceress is wounded. Perhaps you should consider committing more of the souldead,” the Tchulian commander suggested.
“They aren’t that easy to come by, but don’t worry, you met the Baron, do you think four tired mortals could stand up to that baneful creature?” he asked, disdainfully.
“Jatar escaped, and don’t forget that the woman is a sorceress,” the major reminded the necromancer.
“You’re the one who said she was wounded,” CAracusS argued.
“Yes, but I don’t know how much reserve power she still had at her disposal."
CAracusS waved a hand in dismissal and said, "This discussion is futile, we’ll just wait until this evening and then we’ll know.”
Von Dracek’s thoughts returned to CAracusS’ proclamation and he said, “Blaming Olsk for the murders and asking for volunteers for the army at the same time was a wise choice. The citizens should be signing up for our army in herds and cheering the deaths of their old commanders when you execute them later today,” Von Dracek said, complimenting CAracusS on his move.
“Yes, it’s a fine day. With Elizabeth and her son destroyed I don’t see anything standing in our way. The necromancers control Autrany and now Lindankar is in our grasp; I see nothing to stop us from continuing our plans for expansion.” CAracusS was pleased and he could not wait to parade his newest accomplishments in front of the Necromantic Council.
Elizabeth reined her horse in at the edge of the trees. At long last she had reached the Kirnath School, though she had mixed feelings about her return. She could just make out the large buildings of her old school across the meadow. This school had been her home for fifteen years as she learned the ways of the Kirnath Adepts. She longed to go into the familiar halls and reunite with her teachers and friends, but she could not.
Elizabeth was careful to keep her shield around herself and her son, hiding their presence from the watch Adept within the school. Elizabeth could not let her presence be discovered lest someone learn that this was her son.
The four major tan stone buildings with their dark roofs were laid out in a rough square and surrounded by a high wall. The still waters of a moat surrounded the high wall, and out past the moat, some thirty yards was the outer defense; a twenty-foot high and ten foot thick stone wall. The main entry gate in the outer wall was always guarded and faced the forest road coming out of the trees to Elizabeth’s left. Inside the outer wall, a stone bridge spanned the moat and entered a smaller gate through the high inner wall. That, in turn, led to the center of the main structures. Elizabeth knew there were other smaller structures within, though they were hidden from sight from the forest: a stable, blacksmith and other structures.
Six leagues away, down a gentle sloping hill that led into a valley was a small village. Elizabeth could just make out the dim glow of lanterns shining orange light from cottage windows and the thin trails of smoke coming up out of a few chimneys.
Elizabeth sighed as she gazed upon the school where she had grown up, she had not seen it in three years and homesickness plucked the tender strings of her soul. It was all the worse because she knew she could not go in, she could not afford to connect the Ardellen name with the young boy that was about to join their community.
She spoke to her young son even though he was asleep in the pack on her back. “I envy you, my son, I would give anything to go back in time and grow up again in this gentle meadow, for then I would still have your father to meet on that beautiful day when he rode his prancing stallion through that gate and into my heart. He is the only thing that made me want to leave this peaceful place and I miss him terribly.”
Elizabeth rode back into the forest a little way and then dismounted. She took some writing materials out of her saddle packs and wrote a note to leave with Michael. She made sure to use very poor handwriting and misspell words, it read:
Take car o this boi. His ma an pa is deed an e aint got knoen te car fur im, I nowed is perents wel bot I canott take im. His pa gav him the earring, so please let him keep it.
a vilager
an o yeh, he liks goot milc perty fayr
Elizabeth took off her cathexis earring and carefully pierced Michael’s ear with it, he cried out for a moment, but Elizabeth quickly healed the small wound and with the brief pain gone the small child stopped crying. When she was done the earring looked like it had been in his ear for months.
She spent the rest of the afternoon holding and playing with Michael. As dusk’s overture played into evening Elizabeth breastfed her only son for the last time and then she wrapped him in a coarse saddle blanket. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at her beloved son and tried to store his features in her mind for the years they would be apart. Silently weeping the tired young mother took her son and walked up to the large gate to the Kirnath School.
Since the watch Adept made no alarm, and the gate guards were busy at cards in the guard house, no one saw her bring Mi
chael to the gate. Elizabeth lovingly arranged him and his blanket for the last time and carefully tucked the note into the blanket where it could be seen. Then nearly blind from her tears, Elizabeth pounded on the big gate and turned to run back into the cloaking shadows of the forest.
From the edge of the trees, she watched the gate open. The gatekeeper looked around before walking over to the bundled up young child. He looked at the note and then picked him up in the horse blanket and carried the young heir to the Kingdom inside the walls of the old school.
Elizabeth watched the guard’s aura and read his intent to take the baby to the Headmaster Corus. He would decide what was to be done with the abandoned child. Lady Ardellen assumed that Corus would read the note and take care of Michael, and she could begin her vigil through the cathexis earring.
Elizabeth’s head drooped forward as the grief for the loss of all her loved ones weighed down her body, she was utterly alone. It was a very lonely woman who mounted her horse and rode down the forest path that dark night. Her mind was lost in her thoughts of grief as she cantered down the main forest road back toward Lindankar, headed for the fork in the road.
Because of her grief, she forgot to check her surroundings for enemies, and she didn’t see the rope suspended in the tree, nor the Tchulian soldier who swung out and struck her with the bottoms of his boots. His blow took her on the upper right arm and shoulder and knocked her off her horse and onto the ground where her head hit a stone and she knew no more.
CHAPTER FOUR - G’TAKLAR
Deep below the world of air and light moisture condensed out of the cool air and formed a drop on a dark stone ceiling. It slowly ran down the tilt of the craggy stone until it reached the lowest point. The droplet of water made no sound to disturb the dead silence that inhabited the dark underground. The drop paused a moment and then slowly elongated before finally separating from the stone and falling the six-foot distance to land with a dull ‘plip’ sound on the forehead of a young man.
Until that moment, the naked fifteen-year-old had lain unconscious on his back, but with the tiny impact of the water droplet his head jerked though his eyes remained closed. Slowly he brought his right hand up past his chest to the back of his head. He massaged his sore scalp through the short brown hair and after running a dry tongue over his cracked lips, he pried open his sleep encrusted eyes. He found that opening his eyes did him no good at all; it was darker than the bottom of a barrel of tar.
The thought that came to his awakening mind was: Where in the Dark Plane am I?
The modestly muscled young man sat up, which started the unseen room spinning in his head. He was of average height, about five feet and two hand widths tall.
He held his aching head in his hands and realized that he had no idea where he was located. He remembered riding along on the return trip toward Lindankar. He had been thinking about a dancing girl from the Zinterdalin palace, but then suddenly horses were rearing, men were fighting, and people were dying all-round. It all came back in a flash, someone had attacked their troop! He remembered drawing his sword, but something had struck him from behind and knocked him to the ground.
He recalled a foreign-accented voice yelling, “Where’s the ring bearer, which one is he?”
Not knowing what else to do, he had quickly taken out the case containing Jatar’s signet ring, yanked out the cathexis artifact and promptly swallowed the thick round ring, and that was the last thing he could remember before waking up in this blackness.
He crawled around in the darkness and found out a few things; he was in a small stone room about five feet by five feet and he was chained to one wall by his right ankle. The chain trailed up the wall to connect to a ring set in the stone. Opposite from the wall was the room’s only door, but when he checked it he discovered that the door was locked.
I must have been captured by whoever attacked my troop and now they want to ransom me to my parents, he thought, illogically. Then he remembered the ring: Wait, perhaps it is Jatar’s signet ring that they want! They must think I know where it is and they’re going to torture me for the location! He thought again, this time making a little better guess, but then he thought: Or, they are slavers and are planning on selling me down south. That thought was imaginative, but severely back off track.
What shall I do? What would Lord Jatar do if it was him? I wish he were here to help me… wait, I swallowed his ring, and his imprint IS here! Jatar, speak to me, help me!
Within his mind, he heard Jatar’s response: “What… who, G’Taklar, is that you?” Jatar’s thoughts from the Cathexis ring sounded as if he were coming out of a deep sleep.
“Yes, it’s me G’Taklar; I’m chained to the wall and locked in a dark cell. What do I do?” G’Taklar asked aloud, not bothering to explain much of anything.
“Hold on, where did you say you are… and how did I get here?” Jatar responded, puzzled.
“Well, do you remember telling me about how to stop the imprints in the ring from listening or talking by willing them not to speak or hear. I did that to you after the party, there were some cute girls and, well you know I, well I... anyway I forgot to wake you up later, besides the Zinterdalin negotiations were completed, so that’s why you don’t know about the attack. You see we were...”
“Hold on,” Jatar’s thought interrupted G’Taklar’s, “I wasn’t at the Zinterdalin negotiations, that’s why I sent my cathexis ring and imprint with you to Zinterdalin!”
“What are you talking about; you are the imprint in the ring!” G’Taklar replied in exasperation.
G’Taklar’s hand shot up to feel his face.
“Stop that!” G’Taklar exclaimed, “This is my body!” and back under his own control the hand returned to his side.
Jatar’s panicked thought boomed into G’Taklar’s mind: “I am in your body! I can’t move!”
“Of course you are,” G’Taklar replied, “and I’ll thank you not to try and take it over again! You knew you were an imprint on the way to Zinterdalin and when I spoke with you at the negotiations, why don’t you know now?”
“I wasn’t at the negotiations!” Jatar insisted, exasperated and confused, “I stayed back at Lindankar to celebrate Michael’s day of birth and designate him heir to the throne!”
“That’s what the real Jatar did, but you, well he, gave me his ring to talk to his imprint for important decisions,” G’Taklar tried to explain.
“Wait, you have to get back to Tarnelin, we need to warn Elizabeth! A necromancer and one of those Darknull creatures are in the palace!” Jatar exclaimed, as the dire events at the palace came flooding back into his mind.
G’Taklar’s body had the sudden urge to stand, but he suppressed it. “Please, stop that!” he said angrily, “First, we aren’t going anywhere right at this particular moment, and second, how would you know what’s happening at the palace in Tarnelin?” G’Taklar questioned the imprint.
“I was there, a Darknull tried to kill me, but I escaped. Then I fought with a Tchulian major named Von Dracek, and then something hit me in the chest, some kind of light from the Tchulian’s hand. I remember a white light, and then... I woke up here,” Jatar’s thoughts explained.
“But how could your thoughts travel all the way to the ring from the palace in Tarnelin?” G’Taklar asked the imprint, trying to be reasonable.
“They couldn’t, you have to be in close contact with the cathexis before imprinting can happen, unless...” Jatar trailed off, suddenly stricken with the hard truth.
“Unless what?” his young cousin asked.
“Unless you die,” Jatar answered quietly.
“When you say die, you don’t mean die as in being dead do you?” replied the confused G’Taklar, unable to accept what he had heard.
“That’s the only kind I know about, cousin,” Jatar responded.
“Are you trying to tell me you died?” G’Taklar said incredulously.
“It seems that way; when you eliminate all the other answers, t
hat’s the only solution left. When you die your spirit leaves your body and tries to go on to the next plane - unless it has an imprint in cathexis metal. The imprint draws the spirit to the cathexis object. Once the spirit reaches the cathexis it replaces the current version of the imprint with the real aura spirit. That’s why I don’t remember any of your journey or the negotiations, my real spirit replaced the imprint.” At the realization that he was truly dead Jatar’s mind left his own troubles and his thoughts went to his wife and child. “Oh Elizabeth, what’s to become of you and Michael?”
G’Taklar was also coming to the realization of what it meant for his ruler to have died, “But you can’t die, you’re the ruling Lord!”
“There is no law in the world that says rulers are immune to death, G’Taklar. I remember being struck in the chest by something just before I woke up here. That Tchulian officer must have killed me with some kind of magic.”
“Then who rules in Lindankar?” G’Taklar gasped.
“Elizabeth should until Michael comes of age. Thank G’lan that I designated him heir before their plot to kill me succeeded. I just hope the net of conspiracy that slew me didn’t catch Elizabeth as well... or Michael. We must return to Tarnelin to ensure that she and Michael are safe!” Jatar commanded.
“I’m afraid we are kind of tied up now, you see, that’s why I wanted to talk to your imprint, I wanted to see if you could figure out how to get us out of here; I think I’m a captive.” G’Taklar replied.
“Where are we?” Jatar asked, though his mind was still racing on his family’s troubles.
“I don’t know, not exactly. All I know is we’re in a cell, about five by five. It’s dark and we’re chained to a ring in the wall by my right ankle. Last, but not least, I’m completely naked, I don’t have a single stitch of clothing,” G’Taklar complained.
