Elves: Beyond the Mists of Katura

by James Barclay

  Ystormun hunched back into his chair while the echoes of Belphamun’s voice faded against the stone walls of the Hexerion. Across the table from him, Pamun’s fingertips were pressed hard together and sparks of mana played across his nails.

  ‘Errors have been made,’ continued Belphamun. ‘Our gambit for Dawnthief has failed. The elves might be aware of our plans. Are these mortal blows? Focus, brothers, on our next actions. Actions we must execute without error.’

  ‘The march towards dominion of this dimension is in hand,’ said Arumun, waving a hand dismissively.

  ‘Plainly not,’ said Belphamun. ‘Or, if it is, it is a fragile and shaking hand. Here is what must be done—’

  ‘Have I missed something?’ Weyamun rested his ancient arms on the table. ‘I had not understood you to be the speaker of the cadre.’

  Ystormun felt Belphamun’s weary anger deepening.

  ‘Each of us knows that we are all equal within the walls of this chamber,’ said Belphamun. Ystormun had to bite back a bitter retort. ‘I will, with your permission –’ and frost from his fingers rimed the table ‘– put forth my opinion for you to challenge should you feel so inclined.’

  Weyamun actually growled, and the smell of mana fire came from within his pale grey robes, but he said nothing. Ystormun steepled his fingers and settled back more comfortably into his chair, considering where he might seek allies when the time came.

  ‘Forget Dawnthief. Accelerate the unification of the tribes, drive the shamen harder and invade before our enemies can ready themselves. Remember that for all our weaknesses they have been weakened too, and they do not have the resources we enjoy. Nor do they understand the magnitude of our powers.

  ‘And because they must not gain allies, we must snuff out the elven threat as a matter of urgency. Ystormun, I remain confident you can meet this challenge. Or does another wish to come to his aid?’

  Ystormun laughed into the silence. ‘For all your vitriol, you have not a single spine between you.’

  ‘I will oversee your efforts,’ said Pamun. ‘But I will not stand by your side.’

  ‘Oversee? Look to your own problems, Pamun. Why aren’t the lords of every tribe awaiting us in the rotunda? Where are the legions of shamen to lead our tide of destruction?’ Ystormun turned to Belphamun and met his gaze. ‘We all have our tasks, brother. Leave me to complete mine.’

  ‘Do not fail us again,’ said Belphamun.

  ‘Nor you us.’

  Belphamun bridled. ‘I have not—’

  ‘You have no idea if Dawnthief is ours, is lost or rests in the hands of Xetesk.’

  ‘My agents are in the field as we speak.’

  ‘But they have not found an answer, and so we are vulnerable. Hence you have failed. I accept the shortcomings of certain of my actions, brother. Why don’t you?’

  Ystormun pushed back his chair and stood.

  ‘There is much to be done,’ he said, feeling the weight of their combined hatred like a collar around his neck. ‘Sadly, the elves will not exterminate themselves.’

  ‘A shame since that appears to be your brightest hope,’ said Arumun.

  ‘You possess so much bitterness, Arumun,’ said Ystormun. ‘It blights what would otherwise be the delightfully pathetic collection of bile, bigotry and ignorance making up your character.’

  ‘Ystormun,’ said Pamun. ‘The business of the Hexerion is not yet done. And we all must have the opportunity to comment on Belphamun’s ideas. And you shall listen, Brother. And hear how success sounds. Sit.’

  Ystormun bit his lip. With the eyes of the cadre on him he had no choice but to lose face. He sat. Giriamun chuckled.

  ‘Error upon error,’ he hissed.

  Pamun’s eyes closed briefly. His door opened and the stench of Wesman flooded the chamber. Weyamun gestured his displeasure with a flap of a hand in front of his nose. Giriamun coughed.

  ‘Could you not have had it bathed?’

  ‘Come, Sentaya. Stand among us. Show us your faith,’ said Pamun.

  The man walked forward to stand between Pamun and Weyamun. He was shaven-headed, dressed in warm woollen clothes and his shoulders were draped in a lined cloak. He was of average height and appeared past his physical peak though his neck was still thick with muscle.

  Ystormun could not see his face until the Wesman leaped on to the table and turned a slow circle, taking them all in. It was weathered, tanned dark, scarred and flat. His eyes were brown, defiant and hard. He displayed no fear.

  ‘My name is Sentaya. I am lord of the Paleon tribes and rightful lord of all the tribes of the Wes.’ He continued to turn his slow circle. ‘My faith is in my gods and in the strength of my arms. It is in the blood coursing through my veins and the veins of every man of Wes. We seek to destroy a common enemy. Without me, you cannot unite the tribes and bring them to the gates of the colleges in numbers that will break them. Without you, we cannot be certain of defeating their magic.

  ‘But we are not your servants. I am not your slave. It shall always be this way.’

  Sentaya stopped turning and stared at Pamun. Ystormun could see the fury in the Wytch Lord’s face. He smiled as dark sparks flashed in Pamun’s palms.

  ‘We are your masters,’ said Pamun. ‘Your lives are in our hands to be snuffed out as and when we choose.’

  Sentaya shrugged. ‘I do not fear death. But you surely fear being exiled here for eternity.’

  Ystormun stood once more.

  ‘So this is success? We have discovered a whole new definition. Well met, Sentaya, lord of the Paleon. And now, with or without your permission, brothers, I am leaving. There is work to be done.’

  Chapter 4

  When the muster is called, the TaiGethen answer.

  Unattributed

  Ysundeneth was in ferment.

  Auum and Ulysan had run hard from Aryndeneth, hearing the call to muster repeated over and over. It haunted Auum’s waking hours and woke him from his brief moments of sleep. Auum ran up to the top of the cliffs surrounding the Ultan to look down on the city before going in, and what he saw took his breath away.

  Like an invasion was already under way, ordinary elves were flooding out of Ysundeneth and into the dubious security of the rainforest. He could see hundreds of sails, big and small, heading along the coast to the east and west. Elves thronged the streets doing whatever it was that panic prompted.

  But there were no human ships outside the harbour; none on the horizon either. All the same, elves with no experience of living beyond the city were still throwing themselves on the mercy of the forest in fear of what might be coming. And Takaar had fuelled it all, whether by accident or design hardly mattered.

  ‘Why do they listen to him?’ whispered Auum. ‘You’d think no one else knew he’s insane and given to outbursts and fabrications. What a mess.’

  ‘Where do you want to go?’

  ‘The temple of Yniss in the piazza. That’s the only place we’ll get a level-headed appraisal of the situation.’

  The Ultan bridge was thronged with people in the process of making themselves refugees. A few Al-Arynaar were with them, trying to direct them to the surer forest paths.

  Auum ran along the handrail and swung about the flagpoles set along its length looking at the upturned faces as he passed. Two out of ten of them would fall prey to bite, claw or sting. No one with them had any knowledge of herbs or roots, barks or flowers.

  Auum called for them to go home, to listen for the TaiGethen order to evacuate, if it ever came. But a greater power, a greater charisma at any rate, had voiced fear enough to drive them into the rainforest’s dangerous embrace. Takaar: they loved and hated him in equal measure, but they always believed him.

  The temple piazza was full to bursting with elves desperate to pray in their temple, seeking guidance from their priests or simply looking to share their fear with each other. Auum and Ulysan headed to the temple of Yniss, skirting the piazza to avoid getting stuck in the desperate heaving crow
d.

  Auum was uncomfortable this close to a crowd; too many memories, too many harsh sounds at odds with the purity of the rainforest. He led Ulysan down the left-hand side of the temple. It was quieter here. The walls were painted the colours of the forest and Auum instantly felt calmer. He indicated upwards, Ulysan following his gesture.

  Perhaps seventy feet up, lantern light was spilling from a circular opening.

  ‘Think she’s up there?’ asked Ulysan.

  ‘Race you to find out,’ said Auum.

  Ulysan was strong, fast and had a long reach. Auum had often likened him to a monkey, and the big TaiGethen delighted in the gentle jibe. He leaped, found a tiny fingerhold in the timber work and cruised up the outside of the temple as if he was scaling a ladder. Auum smiled and followed as quickly as he could. He was still a good ten feet behind when Ulysan disappeared through the opening. By the time he’d turned a roll over the sill to land in Lysael’s dedication chamber, Ulysan was sitting in a chair reading a book.

  ‘Very funny,’ said Auum.

  ‘I thought we should attempt to alleviate the tension for a moment,’ said Lysael, moving into view from behind a screen, cinching her pale grey robes with a braided red cord. ‘You are most welcome, Auum.’

  Auum knelt and Lysael kissed the top of his head. He stood and the two of them embraced, Auum kissing her eyes and forehead and she returning the gesture.

  ‘Please tell me you know what’s going on,’ said Auum. ‘All I know is a human mage called Stein has contacted Takaar and he has reacted with the proper urgency but without the proper tact.’

  Lysael turned to a tray and filled three carved wooden goblets with sweet red wine. Ulysan rose and bowed his head as she offered one to him. Auum raised his goblet and muttered a prayer of thanks before taking a sip.

  ‘We’re in trouble. Whether an invasion fleet is headed this way or not, you’ve seen the effect the rumours have had. Takaar has brought Stein here. Pretty much every Il-Aryn too. But he needs swords, and that’s why he persuaded the ClawBound to muster the TaiGethen. He says he wants the Al-Arynaar too, and many of them are already with him.’

  ‘To do what, exactly?’ asked Auum. ‘We already have plans for defending the cities.’

  Lysael swallowed the remainder of her wine and headed back to the jug for more.

  ‘That isn’t what he wants. He’s equipping ships.’

  Ulysan coughed, spitting out a mouthful of wine and mumbling an apology. Auum could do nothing but stare at Lysael, trying to unpick the confusion of thoughts crowding his mind. Finally, he managed to get one of them out.

  ‘He’s planning an invasion?’

  The question sounded ludicrous even as he was voicing it, and he was momentarily happy to see Lysael shake her head.

  ‘Not even he is quite that delusional,’ she said. ‘Though Yniss knows he’s dangerous when his other voice gets the upper hand. No, it seems he is planning a rescue.’

  Auum put his goblet down, fearing he might drop it if the revelations got any more astonishing.

  ‘But who is there to rescue?’

  Lysael paused as if weighing up what to say, or perhaps how to say it. She pressed her hands together and took a deep breath. Auum frowned, glad he’d put down his goblet.

  ‘He’s been sending Il-Aryn adepts to train in Balaia.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Why?’ asked Ulysan.

  ‘You’ll have to ask him, but, whatever the reason, now they’re trapped and Takaar wants to rescue them.’

  ‘Well, he’ll be doing it without the TaiGethen,’ said Auum.

  He was finding the whole scene surreal: the wailing out in the piazza a backdrop to Lysael’s words, which echoed in his head like statements of creeping madness. Even the wine tasted bitter.

  ‘Where is he?’ asked Ulysan.

  ‘He’ll be on the docks. He’s stationed himself at the harbour master’s house and he’s using the Herendeneth warehouse for staging people and supplies. The TaiGethen are there.’

  Auum closed his eyes, hoping it was all a ridiculous nightmare. But when he opened them again, the fact that a Stein was here meant that, whatever perverse actions Takaar was taking, the elves were almost certainly facing a mortal threat.

  ‘We’d better go,’ said Auum.

  ‘Front door?’ asked Ulysan.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Auum. ‘I prefer our private route.’

  ‘Not before we share a prayer you don’t,’ said Lysael. She held out her hands to the TaiGethen and the trio knelt facing each other. ‘And we’d better hope Yniss is listening.’

  Auum felt his heart skip as he reached the docks at Tual’s Wharf by the harbour master’s house. Amid the chaos engulfing the greater part of the docks, as people sought escape, this was an oasis of industry and organisation.

  Laden carts stood by the doors to the Herendeneth warehouse. A chain of workers passed crates, barrels and nets inside. Four ships were tied up along the length of the wharf, their crews busy organising cargo into holds and checking sails, rigging and timber. Gang masters sang orders, their gangs responded in kind.

  Ulysan grabbed Auum and pointed towards the warehouse. Faleen stood in the doorway. At the sight of him, she shouted over her shoulder and ran across the cobbles. Her face was bright with excitement.

  ‘So many have come ready to fight,’ she said. ‘It is the greatest muster for seven hundred years. A meeting of friends and a renewal of vows, joy amid the danger. How did you know to call the muster? I thought you were in Katura . . . What’s wrong?’

  Auum took Faleen’s shoulders and kissed her eyes.

  ‘It is good to see you, old friend. It’s been too long. But I did not call the muster. Where’s Takaar?’

  Faleen frowned.

  ‘He’s inside . . . but . . . He didn’t, did he?’

  ‘Forgot to mention that, did he?’ said Ulysan.

  ‘What possessed you to think I’d agree to the TaiGethen sailing for Balaia?’ asked Auum.

  ‘We didn’t understand it,’ said Faleen. She shrugged. ‘But when the muster is called, the TaiGethen come.’

  Auum nodded. ‘Yniss bless you, Faleen. How many of us are here?’

  ‘Two hundred and twenty-seven.’

  Auum blew out his cheeks not knowing whether to be furious or impressed. He settled on the latter. The TaiGethen never failed to respond. But Takaar had much to answer for.

  ‘I’ll talk to you all in due course. But I need to see Takaar and this Stein first.’

  The TaiGethen were gathered to welcome Auum when he walked into the warehouse. He acknowledged their cheers and the songs with a wave but his eyes were fixed on the elf who stood behind a long table covered in parchments. He straightened and spread his arms in a gesture of welcome with that damned beatific smile on his face.

  ‘Auum. More trials await the greatest among elves. And we must greet such challenges with energy, humour and an unswerving faith in our power and our gods.’

  ‘I feel sure the entire elven nation is calmed by the knowledge that you have stepped up to marshal the defence of Calaius.’

  Takaar’s smile flickered briefly before firming once more. ‘I have merely done what needed to be done while awaiting your arrival.’

  ‘Really?’ said Auum.

  He walked up to the table and cast his gaze over the parchments, seeing cargo manifests, lists of names, racking plans and what appeared to be a list of ingredients for some of Takaar’s most potent poisons. Some ingredients were ticked, many were not.

  ‘On learning of a threat to Calaius, would you not have mustered the TaiGethen and made this place your centre of operations?’

  ‘What I would have done is not panic the entire city! There is an evacuation going on without any order and without a plan. Thousands are putting themselves at needless risk by fleeing to the rainforest totally unprepared. Do you have a parchment dealing with that?’

  Takaar looked at him blankly. ‘We have enemies
to face. Our people must be trusted to look after themselves.’

  ‘We must keep them safe from harm. That is our duty. You have pushed them into harm’s way. All the Al-Arynaar you have gathered will be redeployed to advise and aid the population of Ysundeneth.’

  Anger flashed across Takaar’s face. ‘They have more important tasks.’

  ‘There is no more important task than the safety and security of our people.’ Auum sighed. ‘Look, let’s not do this wrong. Right now I can see panic across the city, ships in the harbour and my people gathered here for no particular purpose. Talk to me, Takaar. What do we face? Where is Stein?’

  ‘See, I told you he would believe me,’ said Takaar, looking to his right, apparently addressing his other self. He frowned. ‘Tell him, Auum. You do believe me, don’t you?’

  Auum noted Takaar’s lieutenants – Drech was one, he didn’t recognise the other – switch their attentions to the table. Drech gave the merest shrug and Auum wished, not for the first time, that he was more than the tacit leader of the Il-Aryn.

  ‘I believe that not even you would call a muster without cause.’

  Takaar looked to his right again.

  ‘Well I would call it a ringing endorsement. And we must be ready or we will be swept aside.’

  Auum waited while Takaar descended into spitting and muttering, the mad elf’s hands clenching a piece of parchment and finally ripping it into pieces.

  ‘Takaar, where is Stein?’ asked Auum gently, cursing himself for a fool for not seeing Takaar’s delicate state sooner. ‘Why did you send your adepts to Balaia to train with humans? With our enemies?’

  Takaar focused on him briefly before laughing at something his other self had said.

  ‘Well we can agree there,’ he said. ‘No combat magic on Herendeneth. Only place to go is Julatsa.’

  Auum frowned. ‘And Julatsa is . . . ?’

  ‘The human magical college and city most closely aligned to the Il-Aryn in terms of ethics and magical constructions.’