by Sam Ferguson
In those moments as he trembled and quaked in agony, he heard Basei’s voice laughing in his ears. He saw his mother’s dead body lying before him in his mind’s eye, and he screamed a terrible, feral yell that erupted from the very core of his being.
CHAPTER 18
Talon climbed through the spiraling stones one step at a time. The blue light that formed a barrier to Terramyr faded and the Sierri’Tai warriors stood to welcome their king. The victorious assassin looked to his faithful servants and smiled at them.
This had been Talon’s most challenging, and by far the most rewarding assassination of his life. Not only had he avenged his mother, but he had set the world in better balance. With Basei dead, and himself empowered as the new demi-god to rule in his place, Talon could end all of it. He didn’t have to rule over Basei’s zealous devotees. In fact, he didn’t want anything to do with them. It was time for the demi-god of battle to vanish, along with any vestige of his memory or dastardly religion. Talon had now made his choice. He could withdraw from Terramyr, satisfied that Basei was dealt with, and owing nothing to any follower of Basei. He could create a better civilization with the Sierri’Tai clans and the Tomni’Tai survivors. Now that his pain was healed, he could look to heal others, something he had never considered before.
“It is done,” Talon said. The Sierri’Tai warriors fell to their knees and bowed their heads. Talon bid them rise and then went to the statue of Basei in the center of the High Temple. He drew Drekk’hul, and with one swing of his sword he shattered the statue.
Next he moved to each of the prayer rooms and did likewise, destroying the wicked rooms of sacrifice and dark rituals once and for all.
Afterward, he opened the front doors and greeted the frantic pilgrims.
Jerax was the first to notice the change in Talon. The man dropped to his knees and placed his hands palm out in front of him on the ground in the old tradition of formal supplication, his eyes cast to the earth. The other pilgrims quickly followed suit, each looking down to the ground. All except for one, that is. The stranger from the night before in the green robes knelt only on one knee, and he kept his eyes on Talon, as if searching for something. He certainly showed none of the fear that the others did.
Talon looked at the stranger, trying to decide what might give the tall man such courage at a time when all other followers of Basei were nearly petrified. However, Jerax was quick to interrupt Talon’s concentration, speaking in a quivering voice.
“I see the presence of a demigod about you. Are you the Basei we have worshipped? Had you come to us in disguise last night? To test us? Or...” Jerax lifted his eyes timorously, “Have you slain Basei?!” Jerax said.
Talon nodded. “Basei is no more, and soon his temple will be no more than a memory upon this plane. Return to your homes.”
The pilgrims raised their eyes one by one to look on the great warrior who could best a demi-god, and then beyond him to the drow warriors who were gathered at his back. Some of them cried, while others stammered and stuttered incoherent sentences.
“Why?” Jerax asked.
Talon sheathed his sword and summoned a flame in his hand. With his new powers as a demi-god, he opened a vision for all of the pilgrims to see. He showed them the truth behind Basei’s mask, and uncovered for them the monster behind the priests. When the vision of Basei’s atrocities was ended, Talon charged them to go out to their homes, and promised that no one else need be sacrificed in any shrine of Basei.
Using his powers, Talon moved the pilgrims out into the desert, a few hundred yards beyond the outer courtyard along the road leading to the temple. Then he and his followers exited the temple. Moments later, Talon turned and destroyed the monstrosity of a monument with a great cataclysm of fire and lightning. Stones burst and columns fell as a great, burning sphere of blue fire devoured every last piece of the temple. Then came a black cloud over the space and lightning struck the sands below, turning the area into a field of black and silver glass.
Talon turned back to the pilgrims, making sure they were preparing to leave as he had commanded them. As he searched the crowd, he realized the stranger in the green robes was missing from the group. The demi-god scanned all around himself, but when he could find no trace of the man, he gave up the hunt. He had more important matters to tend to at this time.
Then Talon turned and teleported with his warriors back to the makeshift camp at the base of the mountains. He found the Tomni’Tai elves in good spirits, making the best of their time waiting and hoping for Talon’s return as they dressed wild game and prepared it for meals.
Elorien was the first to notice his return. She ran out a few steps to meet him, but then stopped when she realized the difference in his personage. Talon smiled warmly to her and whispered to one of his warriors. The drow warriors then returned to the camp while Talon stayed at a distance and watched.
Elorien approached then and asked, “Aren’t you coming too?”
Talon nodded. “I will, in time,” he said. “First, I need to visit Basei’s other shrines and temples. It is time that his wicked practices be put to an end.”
Elorien nodded and brushed a hand through her hair. “And then?”
Talon smiled at her and nodded his head ever so slightly. “And then I will come back. My servants will protect the camp until I can return. It shouldn’t take long, for I have not only Basei’s powers, but also his knowledge. I know where each of the shrines and temples are, and I know how to get there using magic. I should be back within a couple of weeks. Then we will build our city in the astral plane.”
“A couple of weeks?” Elorien repeated. “But we could be found in that time.”
Talon smiled slyly and raised his hand. A translucent orb hovered over the camp, descending slowly and expanding to catch all of the elves in its boundaries. “I had intended to transport the camp to the astral plane to await my return,” Talon said.
The orb dropped down onto the camp and a great, silver fog covered it. The light within the orb dimmed and then a great rush of wind circled about the elves that were huddled together inside. The orb swallowed the entire camp, scooping up not only the elves, but the portion of land they had been camping on, as well as water from the stream. The orb carried them off with great speed, flying through the sky and up into the clouds. Within minutes, the whole settlement was moved to the astral plane and set upon the same vast expanse of black, floating rock that Basei had used for his lair. Talon thought it more than fitting to build over Basei’s domain with his own, thereby squelching his memory and wiping it from the astral plane as well.
A moment later, another orb appeared in the sky and deposited the families from the Netherworld of each warrior that had remained true to Talon. Wives and children were reunited with their husbands and fathers. Talon smiled as he watched Leflin reunited with his entire clan, welcoming all of them to their new home. The former assassin even laughed when he saw Tomni’Tai children approach children from the Sierri’Tai clans and initiate play, shattering the barriers between the two cousin races.
Then, for a moment Talon’s breath slowed and he cringed as he noticed several families who had found themselves unable to locate the father or brother who had bought them freedom from the Netherworld. He felt lacking for the first moment since having absorbed Basei’s powers, and realized this may not be his last such moment either. In truth his first instinct was to turn to Elorien to set her to address this problem, but then noticed that several clan chiefs were making their way from their groups, Leflin among them, and were approaching the confused and lost ones who were only just now starting to realize what may have happened to their relatives. Words and tokens were exchanged, hands were taken, and the bereft family members were led in an orderly fashion to join with the other clan members who embraced them.
Just then Elorien arrived at Talon’s side. “It seems they had all made arrangements for the care of their kin before ever leaving the Netherworld. You noticed the small items the
clan chiefs were exchanging with the family members who were left without their men? They are tokens that designate the fealty of a clan to their chief, carried by the matriarch of the clan, and the responsibility of a chief to the clan for protection and care. It seems each of your warriors had designated their tokens to specific others to take in case they should fall. It’s quite elegant really. It leaves no question in the minds of the families who they are meant to be with for the rest of their lives.” Talon noticed in that moment that a similar token was hanging from her belt. Something he had never noticed before. Elorien met his eyes for just a moment and then left without another word to join with the Tomni’Tai who were enjoying the opportunity to meet so many more of their long lost cousins.
Talon took only another moment to watch the happy interactions of his new subjects, and then turned away. Fyrik approached Talon just as he was preparing to leave. “You have done much to heal our old wounds,” Fyrik said.
Talon turned and took in a breath. “It isn’t the ending I saw for myself,” Talon said openly.
Fyrik nodded. “Yes, the path of vengeance can take even the best of men far from their destined courses. But still, it is good to see that you have come around, even if it was a bit late.”
Talon smiled. “Like you said, perhaps it is time to let the past remain in the past, and move on to forge new lives.” The assassin-turned-demi-god threw a glance at Elorien, and then he vanished, off to cleanse Terramyr of any reminder of Basei.
CHAPTER 19
Far away from Terramyr, in the great expanse of the universe and nestled among the brightest stars, a group of tall beings dressed in green, shimmering cloaks sat around a semi-circular table inside a castle of shimmering crystal.
The seven of them sat patiently, waiting for the return of one of their scouts.
A chandelier hovered above them, burning brightly with golden flames and casting all shadows out of the square chamber. There were no windows in the room, nor hallways connecting this room to any other in the castle. There was only the single, arched doorway that lead out into a great garden that overlooked the expanse of space.
The seven beings made no sound until they saw a tall figure arrive on the back of a large wyrm. He slid off from the beast and patted it twice, dismissing it as he walked through the garden and into the chamber.
He wore green robes that shimmered like silk. His eyes were a light, yet fierce blue that had a piercing quality to them. He straightened his gray tunic and adjusted his black trousers before stepping into the hollow of the table and bowing to the seven others.
“Reshem, what news do you bring from Terramyr?” one of the seven asked in a high-pitched, nasal voice.
Reshem bowed once more and then addressed them. “I have found hope for Terramyr. It appears that they are not yet beyond the bounds of order.”
The being on the far left of the table spoke up. “Are you saying that we should not send the four horsemen?”
Reshem nodded. “I am saying that they need not be sent. Not yet.”
