Kalina tried to hide a smile and failed and Garth was obviously taken aback by the display of hair. “So you’re not,” Garth corrected. “Still, I would say climbing a tree and watching a group of people certainly constitutes spying.”
“I was looking for food and saw your campfire is all,” Tanya stated.
“Where is your uncle?” Niki asked. “I thought he was going into Toresh to get food.”
Kalina looked back and forth between the two girls in confusion. “We were attacked by Dark Riders,” Tanya sobbed. “They killed my uncle and burned the wagon. I only got away by hiding.”
Niki went over and comforted Tanya and Fredrik explained to Kalina whom Tanya was and how they had met. Arik added that they met Boris and Tanya in Lorgo before Garth came to town. Kalina was so confused with everything that was happening that she sat and sipped at her coffee.
Fredrik stared as Niki took Tanya by the hand and got her food. He had never seen Niki be nice to anyone, himself included. Women, he figured, the world’s greatest mystery, and created only to confuse men. Garth walked over and untied the two horses that Arik had tied to the wagon, then helped himself to coffee and sat down. Eventually, everyone gathered at the campfire with a mug of coffee. There were many unanswered questions, but Arik chose to go first.
“Kalina,” he began, “you once told us that we were free to go whenever we wanted. Do you still say that?”
“I will not hold you against your will, Arik, but truthfully, I hope you will stay,” Kalina said. “We all have many questions that go begging answers. We will spend today discussing what we have seen and what it means to each of us. If you still wish to leave after that, I will not stop you.”
“That is acceptable, Arik answered. “I must tell you that I am not comfortable in the company of a witch.”
“Not many people are, Arik,” she sighed, “that is why I hide it. I should point out, though, that you are in the company of three people who can wield magic.”
“What is going on?” Tedi asked. “Why are the Dark Riders after us? What was all of that smoke and images with the sword? I don’t understand any of this and, frankly, I don’t like it.”
“Let me ask a question first,” Kalina interrupted. “Who among you actually touched the sword?”
“We all did,” Niki answered. “I was the one who took it out of the wagon, but once we unrolled it, everyone touched it. What is it?”
Ignoring Niki’s question, Kalina continued her search for information. “Who caused the glass bead to fall out? Was it you, Niki?”
“We are all to blame,” Fredrik stated. “Do not pick on Niki when we should all share in whatever punishment you mete out.”
“I am not talking about punishment or blame,” Kalina insisted, “but I do need to know which one of you caused the bead to fall from the sword.”
“We don’t know,” Arik answered. “The bead was on the bottom of the sword because we were looking at the side where the gems belong. When we turned it over, the bead was not in the sword. There is no way we could determine which one of us broke it. We are all to blame.”
“Okay,” Kalina said exasperatingly, “let me say this again. There is no blame or punishment involved. The sword is not broken. The sword is behaving exactly like it is supposed to. I will admit I was excited when I saw the missing bead, but I was wrong when I accused you of stealing it. I know that now. What I do not know is which one of you was the cause of it coming loose.”
“And we shall never know,” declared Tedi. “Everything that has been said is true. We do not know how the bead came loose. We all touched the sword. Niki had the bead in her hand because she was trying to put it back on the sword. Why does it matter who was the cause?”
“Okay,” Kalina began, “I am going to tell you some things that very few people in the world know, but to tell you, I need your pledges not to repeat it to anyone if you decide to leave us.”
One by one, the children gave their pledges and Kalina finally continued. “In the time before your birth, there was an evil magician known as Sarac. Sarac had visions of ruling the world and he did not care how he achieved that goal. He caused wars and strife in which tens of thousands of people died and still he failed. He created an organization called the Black Devils and taught them magic. One of the spells he taught them tied them to his will with eternal allegiance. In effect, he created a private army that held no allegiance to country, but only to him. In a great battle, good magicians created a new Universe and exiled him to it.”
“Who were these good magicians and why didn’t they just kill him?” Tanya asked.
“Who they were is not important,” Kalina declared, “but the reason they didn’t kill Sarac is because they were not capable of killing him. Sarac surrounded himself with a hundred Black Devils and there were only three good magicians. The hundred Black Devils’ job was to provide Sarac with shields to protect him.”
“The three magicians were Kirsta, Jenneva and Egam,” Fredrik interjected. “Kirsta and Egam died in the battle, or so the Black Devils say. They still search for Jenneva this very day, but most believe she died during the Collapse.”
“You know very much for a Collapse child,” Kalina said.
“I learned many things from spying on the Black Devils in Trekum,” Fredrik said proudly.
“Well,” Kalina continued, “you are correct, except Egam did not die in the battle. It was thought that he was dead, but he survived that battle to supposedly die during the Collapse. Anyway, to get back to the story, they were unable to kill Sarac and he was slowly killing them, so Jenneva did the only thing she could think of. She created an empty Universe and banished him and his hundred Black Devils to it.”
“But I heard that Sarac is the Dark One,” objected Fredrik.
“And so he is,” confirmed Kalina. “You see, Sarac did not possess the knowledge of creating and collapsing Universes, so he was trapped. Only Jenneva knew and she would never let him free. Some of the Black Devils who were left behind organized under a sorcerer known as Mordac. Mordac was an assistant to Sarac and schemed to bring him back. He amassed thousands of followers and began looting temples and libraries to find the knowledge that would free Sarac.”
“Was this Jenneva foolish enough to write the information down?” Tedi asked.
“No,” replied Kalina, “but she did not invent the information. She learned of it in old scrolls and there was a volume called the Book of the Beginning that also contained the information. It was this volume that Mordac sought. Again the Black Devils caused thousands of lives to be lost through wars and murder, but eventually Mordac and the Black Devils were defeated by the Targa Rangers and everyone thought the threat was over.”
“Who are the Targa Rangers?” inquired Arik.
“The Rangers were an elite fighting force conceived and organized by Alex Tork,” Kalina answered. “They fought for Targa which was a large country north of here. By all accounts, they were the finest fighting force ever assembled in the history of the world, but we are getting off topic. Two Black Devils out of thousands survived, Dalgar and Aurora. By a quirk of fate, these two Black Devils were the only two to have read the Book of the Beginning in the extremely short time that the Black Devils possessed it.”
“Perhaps fate decreed that they should be spared,” offered Niki.
“Perhaps,” Kalina grimly agreed. “They used their knowledge to open a Junction to Sarac’s Universe. The story is unclear here, but somehow they got this new knowledge to Sarac and he opened a Junction to Alutar, the Great Demon. The Mage had imprisoned Alutar for over a thousand years and the Demon’s freedom triggered a prophecy. According to the Ancient Prophecy, Alutar chose Sarac to become the Dark One. This made Sarac immortal and guaranteed him rule of the entire world. There were a couple of twists in the Ancient Prophecy, though. Sarac collapsed the Universes and brought darkness and havoc to the world in preparation for his armies, but Alex and Jenneva managed to imprison him in his castl
e before he could conquer the world and that is where he still exists today.”
“What does all of this have to do with the sword?” Tedi asked.
“The twists in the Ancient Prophecy,” explained Kalina. “The sword before you is the Sword of Heavens. It is older than the oldest mountain range and it is tied to the Ancient Prophecy. It is the sword that will kill Sarac and end the Darkness. There are two conditions that have to be met before Sarac dies with this sword and neither is assured to happen.”
The children looked in awe at the sword and there were quite a few red faces around the fire.
“The first,” Kalina detailed, “is that the seven missing gems must be restored to the sword. Each of the gems represents one of the original Universes. Until all seven of the gems are restored, the Sword of Heavens is just a sword and will not kill Sarac. The second twist is that the Sword of Heavens must be wielded by a descendant of Sarac and only after the ancient kingdom of Alcea is ruled by its rightful King.”
“I have never heard of Alcea,” declared Fredrik.
“And who is a descendant of Sarac?” quizzed Tedi. “I think most people would deny it if they were.”
“Very good questions,” admitted Kalina. “The Children of the Prophecy whom everyone seeks are the descendant of Sarac and the rightful King of Alcea.”
“Are you sure it says the King of Alcea and not the Queen?” Niki queried.
“So, for these two people, everyone who is seventeen is to be killed?” Arik quipped.
“If Sarac has his way, yes,” Kalina responded. “You can see why it is so important to the Dark One to find these children.”
“Sure, it’s important to him,” remarked Tedi, “but what does that have to do with us?”
Kalina looked at the faces of the children around the campfire before answering. “Because the Sword of Heavens will be inactive until touched by one of the Children of the Prophecy,” she stated.
Silence fell over the group as the children all glanced at one another. For almost five minutes no one spoke as each person was lost in his own thoughts about what they had witnessed and what it might mean to them if they were the one who had set the sword off. Eventually, Garth interrupted the silence.
“You will see now,” he began, “why it is important that we do not split up. Any one of you could be one of the Children. Any of the others could provide a description of the other four and make the Dark One’s work easy for him. The fate of the whole world lies in the hands of the people in this campsite. None of you can walk away from this and hope to lead a normal life as if none of it has happened. You must all train to be as skilled as you can become, both in the arts that I can teach and in those that Kalina can teach. Together we can restore Light to the world, though it will be no easy task. Are we agreed?”
“Can it really happen?” asked Tanya. “I mean, the great Jenneva did not have the magical skill to kill Sarac and the great Alex Tork did not have the military skill to destroy the Black Devils. How can you propose that five children can do what the great people of the last age failed to do?”
Kalina looked at the young girl who was probably still wrapped in remorse over the loss of her uncle. “Who could fail to try?” Kalina quipped. “Would you live in a world of fear and hatred and never embrace hope? Would you live and die in Darkness without ever trying to see the Light? Because others have failed before you, do you curl up and die with your insignificance? Your uncle saw the Light in his lifetime. What do you suppose he would have given to allow you to see it in your lifetime?”
“I know that I am not one of the Children whom you seek,” stated Arik, “but your goals are what everyone’s goals should be. Whichever of you is the one, I offer to stand by you until the Dark One is vanquished.”
Tedi nodded vigorously. “I agree. Arik and I know our parents well and they could not be related to the Dark One, but our fathers would be the first to urge us to accept this challenge. I, too, will stand by the Child of the Prophecy until the Dark One is vanquished.”
Garth smiled at his two pupils. Over the past few weeks, they had shown themselves to be excellent students with strong skills, although he never told them such, but now they were showing that they were men of substance, as well.
“Do we know whether the one among us is the future King or the descendant of the Dark One? Niki asked.
“Does it matter?” snarled Fredrik. “Is a child supposed to carry the sins of his father just for being his son? Whichever one he is, he will be doing the world a great service and I will pledge my support. My parents were poor, but good people. I cannot fathom them being of the stock of the Dark One and my wildest imagination cannot conceive of them being royalty, but I join with you until the end. There is nothing for me to go back to and Kalina offers much to learn. Count me in.”
“I know I am not really a part of this group,” Tanya smiled sheepishly, “but I have nowhere to go. I can fight and if it involves fighting the Dark One, I can fight eagerly. If you will have me, I will pledge you my support until the end.”
Everyone looked at Niki who was biting her nails. She suddenly looked up at the silence and reddened. “I know my fate is to be a queen,” she said. “It has always been my fate, I know it. I did not know my parents and it is possible that the country I am to rule is this Alcea. Are you sure the prophecy specifies a King?”
Kalina just nodded sadly, but Garth caught Niki’s attention. “Perhaps,” he began, “you are destined to marry this King of Alcea.”
Niki blushed but she quickly looked at the three boys and smiled. “Perhaps you are right, Garth. I only know that I am to be a queen. I have nowhere else to turn, so I guess I will go with you.”
Kalina smiled grimly. It was not the strong commitment that the others had given, but perhaps that was as close as Niki could come. “Okay,” she confirmed, “ we are all in this together, then. The first thing we need to do is create uniforms like Garth’s. We will all dress in black leather with many pockets. The boys will grow beards so they look older. Tanya, you will get a black leather cap to replace your brown one. I think when you let down your hair by removing that cap, it will unnerve your audience enough to make them forget they were questioning your age.”
“We will get rid of the wagon and no longer be gypsies,” Garth added. “The wagon would cause us to move too slowly and leaves tracks which are too readable. Tanya, you will join Arik and Tedi for instructions. Fredrik and Niki will also get instructions from me so they will be useful in situations where magic would not be a good idea.”
The boys looked enthused, but Niki was sadly staring at the ground. “What is the matter?” Tanya questioned.
Niki looked up at Tanya and gave a weak smile. “All of the boys here knew their parents,” Niki mused. “That means that the Child we have with us is the descendant of the Dark One.”
Garth caught her eye. “Your logic is not as good as it appears,” he interjected. “The descendant of the Dark One whom everyone seeks was the child of the Empress of Sordoa. The child was born in the year of the Collapse.”
Niki caught her breath at the implication. Garth had not said the son of the Empress of Sordoa and all of the boys knew their parents. A chill ran down her spine and she shivered. Who would accept the daughter of the Dark One for a queen and how could she possibly kill her father? Niki threw herself into Tanya’s arms and cried.
“What of this King of Alcea?” Fredrik asked. “What do you know of him?”
“He would have to be descended of the royal line of Alcea,” Garth explained. “Alcea was a very ancient country that grew and took up a large part of the continent. Somewhere along the line, its name was changed to Targa. In the royal line of Targa would be a descendant of John Secor, a great painter who never assumed the throne. In the years before the Collapse, Mordac murdered King Eugene. King Eugene’s heir was John Secor, but he refused the throne. In a compromise, Duke Whitley became King Byron. King Byron’s adopted son was Prince Oscar Dalek, who w
as married to John Secor’s daughter, Princess Callie. So the rightful King’s daughter married the actual King’s son. The child of their marriage would be the rightful heir to the throne. They had a child who was lost when the ship they were on was sunk in the Sordoan Sea. He was born in the year of the Collapse.”
“Wasn’t Oscar Dalek the boy merchant who became rich by creating a private army to deal with bandits?” Tanya asked. “Uncle Boris used to tell stories of him.”
“The same,” chuckled Garth. “Oscar Dalek became the richest man in the world with schemes which always benefited the other party. He started Targan shipping on the Targa Sea with a new type of boat he designed. He had the Great Canal built and he introduced his mother to Duke Whitley who went on to become King of Targa. That is how he became a Prince.”
“Sounds like quite a character,” Tedi grinned. “Someone should have had him sell land in a peat bog for Sarac’s new home.”
“How did the Empress of Sordoa get involved with Sarac?” Arik asked. “I mean, Sarac wasn’t royalty or anything, was he?”
“No,” Kalina explained, “Sarac had a plan to take over the four great nations of the continent by replacing their rulers with his own people. The Empress of Sordoa was none other than Aurora.”
Niki started crying again and Tanya hugged her.
Kalina continued as if she hadn’t noticed. “Aurora befriended the Sultan of Sordoa and eventually they were married. She already carried Sarac’s child before the marriage and the Sultan believed it was his own. Aurora convinced the Sultan to declare himself the Emperor and her the Empress, which he did shortly before she killed him and took over the throne.”
Niki broke out in hysterics and Tanya shot Kalina a foul look. Kalina eyed Tanya directly and continued. “Everyone who is involved in this party has a right to know these facts, Tanya,” Kalina lectured. “Niki is getting hysterical for no reason. If she does not wish to hear this information, you may take her for a walk.”
Sapphire of the Fairies, Book 1 of Sword of Heavens Page 16
