The Ageless Giant

by B K Suitter

  **************************

  “There is simply nothing like the Temple of Carami, Aliha,” said Gideon as he and the new princess sat on comfortable chairs aboard the Iron Horse. They would reach the city of Snowflake later that evening, but for now, the two were enjoying a light lunch of fresh Arani fruit while Gideon versed Aliha on the ways of the temple.

  “It is the oldest structure in the world. They say that when Carami first created man, He put them here on Asaria.”

  “Who says that?” Aliha asked while taking a large bite of a bright red apple.

  “The monks at the temple say it. Their oldest and most sacred scroll was written right after Carami had His temple built two thousand years ago. It is known as The Plan of Earth and Star and it talks of Carami and his godly brother, Plagarous.”

  “In the beginning, there was Carami and Plagarous and they sat on heavenly thrones and pondered,” Gideon recited from his memory of the ancient text. “But Carami became bored as they sat and they pondered so he created man and put him here on Asaria. Carami made man to be happy, healthy, and strong. He made animals to be rich for the hunt. Carami made man to be durable in the North and prosperous in the South.”

  Plagarous watched his brother toil with his creation like a farmer on his land and at first, Plagarous did not care, but as he watched Carami grow to love man, he became jealous. Not for what Carami had, but for what his creation did not have. So, he used his godly powers and he blessed man with curses such as sadness, sickness, and pestilence, and where Carami planted the seed for the love between a man and a woman, Plagarous poisoned the growth with lust and rape. And where Carami gave them peace and comfort, Plagarous countered with war and disease, so man was doomed to fail. And he did.

  In Carami’s rage, he shook all Asaria and leveled the continent flat. All of man’s creations were destroyed and Carami started over. His new creations were much smaller and simpler, unlike the giants of The First Age, and the animals were small as well and plentiful for the hunt.

  Again, Plagarous cursed the men and women with plague and wickedness and Carami watched in sadness and he pondered. He came up with an idea and introduced it to his brother. He showed him magic and told him that he would send it down to Asaria to help his people heal.

  Plagarous approved the idea, but on one condition: everyone would have magic. Carami opposed the plan and said they would be given the right to choose whether they would have magic or not. The godly brothers disagreed.

  Carami sent the magic down anyway to a monk who lived deep in the green hills of the Western Southland and introduced the man to healing magic. Carami, in a vision to the monk, told him that the magic could be made to heal mankind and to stave off the sickness that Plagarous had caused.

  The monk became a healer of man. But Plagarous played his hand in the magic as well, and all that were healed by it were given magic themselves. They were given the power to fly, to run faster, and know inconceivable strength. They became extremely intelligent and unlocked the ways of telekinesis. They became so advanced that they focused on new ways to sprout their own demise. War was taken to a new height and diseases and plagues were spread through constant use of the magic. It became a sickness that spread across the land.

  Again, man failed, and they were destroyed.

  In the Third Age of Man, Carami created a new race and put the magic into the hands of the first Asarian, Asar. He and the Ancients built a massive temple to contain it and bestowed a brotherhood to guard it. Carami blessed man, and again Plagarous cursed them.

  “Carami vowed to not interfere this time in the lives of man and would let them go their course with both good and bad and asked his brother to do the same,” Gideon finished.

  “And did he?” Aliha asked after plopping a few large grapes into her mouth. “Did Plagarous agree to not interfere?”

  “Obviously not,” Gideon replied with a sad chuckle. “The monks believe that Plagarous has come down to Asaria to see to the destruction of Carami’s temple.”

  “How would he do that?” asked Aliha. “And wouldn’t Carami try to stop him if he did?”

  “I don’t know, Aliha,” said the old healer. “It is what the monks believe, and soon you will have the chance to ask them yourself.”

  The Iron Horse traveled east across the bare northern tundra, pulling rail cars that were loaded with goods being shipped to Snowflake. Salted beef and fresh Arani fruits were loaded alongside crates of dark ale and an ensemble of the best and cheapest Arani wines. These goods and much more were heading for the eastern port city explicitly for The Ice Pack.

  13

  Year of the Frost Horn 2318 A.A.

  “I’m afraid,” said the small girl quietly.

  “I know, honey,” was all Torique could say to his young daughter. The two sat in a small rowboat that bobbed on the waves close to the sandy beach of the island.

  “Do I really have to go, Daddy?” she asked, her large brown eyes full of sadness and fear and holding tears that had yet to fall. The sight wrenched at Torique’s heart as he sat motionless in the boat.

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  The small girl of eight summers stood up and slowly got out of the boat. Her pink flower dress floated on the water as she splashed waist deep into the cold ocean. She began walking towards the beach with her arms and hands up above the small waves while Torique grabbed at the oars of his small rowboat and started rowing away.

  He watched as his young daughter emerged from the cold surf to stand upon the dreaded island. She slowly walked up the gritty shore towards the thick tangle of jungle vines, and the tropical forest yawned and shook, and a multitude of black carrion birds broke from the tops of the trees and shrieked.

  Torique pulled at the oars as he looked through eyes clouded with tears to see his precious little girl wave goodbye; her sad face surrounded by long curly brown hair. She knelt in the sand and stared out across the blue ocean water in his direction as dark shapes emerged from the jungle line behind her. They crawled with stealth, moving awkwardly across the beach like twisted creatures possessed by madness. Closer and closer they crept towards the small girl as she stayed unmoving in the sand. Then they were right behind her and they stood up to tower menacingly over her. Their twisted limbs stretched out long with claws that dripped venom, and their gruesome mouths opened wide to expose long sharp teeth and drool spittle over her head.

  And she screamed!

  Torique’s eyes popped open as he was shattered from his nightmare. His heart beat hard against his chest and he held his breath as he lay frozen in a hammock that was stretched tight between two large trees in his backyard. It was a warm afternoon and he stared up at a blue sky through the foliage of the tall trees above him and he listened intently to the quiet noises of distant birds chirping somewhere overhead.

  After a moment, he gave a sigh of relief and began to relax, but another scream from his daughter sent him rolling out of the hammock and onto his feet. Torique raced across the thick green grass of his large yard in bare feet, turning in desperate circles to spot his young daughter as she screamed yet again, calling for help.

  “Angelica!” he cried out as he ran around the side of his house towards the tall wooden fence that surrounded the entire backyard. He slid to a stop at the gate and grabbed at the handle and pushed down on a small lever quickly with his thumb and yanked it open. His young daughter screamed in delight as she pushed past him and raced into the backyard.

  “Perfect timing!” she yelled out as a bucket of water washed against Torique’s chest, drenching his shirt and pants. The young boy that splashed him skidded to a stop and his eyes were wide with fear.

  “Sorry, sir,” said Tad in a sheepish manner. He looked down at the bucket he now held loosely with one hand and waited for his scolding.

  Torique’s initial reaction was to yell at the foolish boy, but so relieved was he that Angelica was alright, he just stood there and chuckled, dripping water from the waist dow
n.

  “It’s ok, Tad,” he replied as his small daughter peeked out from behind him with a wide smile.

  “That was perfect,” Angelica said, then she raced off again, sprinting past the boy and causing him to take up the chase once more.

  Later that night, Torique and his wife and daughter sat down for a small dinner of roasted potatoes and cooked ham. Angelica talked continuously of the playful adventures she had had throughout the day while repeating the word “perfect” in almost every sentence and picking at her food in meager bites. Elizabeth just listened while eating and encouraged her daughter to eat instead of talk. Torique sat in deep thought, remembering the dream he had earlier and reflecting on the plan he had been formulating for the past week. He now felt it was time to bring it to his family’s attention.

  “I think we should move back to Dankar City,” he said, freezing Angelica in the middle of her sentence.

  “What?” the small girl protested, her body perking up from its chair. “No way, I’m not going back there. Tell him no, Mommy. We can’t, I won’t.”

  “Honey, please,” Elizabeth said to Angelica, “let your father speak. Why do you wish to move back?” she asked her husband.

  “Mommy, tell him no,” the young girl said with her tiny nose scrunched and her thick eyebrows lowered in anger. “That would not be perfect.”

  “Angelica, please,” Elizabeth scolded, “and quit saying that word. You know it bothers me.”

  “I’m not moving again. I like it here and I won’t go,” Angelica said as she got up from the table. “Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to my perfect room, perfectly,” and she stomped her way into the other room.

  Torique chuckled and shook his head. “She is much like her mother,” he said, trying to lighten the sour atmosphere with a small quip.

  Elizabeth gave him a smile and reached out to place a delicate hand over his. Her dark hair was curly, and it fell to her shoulders. Her brown eyes and thick eyebrows were similar to their daughter’s, as well as her tiny nose. She was short when standing and was thin with large hips. To Torique, she was the most beautiful woman alive.

  “Tell me what is on your mind,” she said, looking deep into her husband’s eyes and seeing the uncertainty that rested there.

  “I don’t think…,” Torique began, then hesitated and took a short breath. “I don’t want to sail for The Crown any longer,” he said. “I want to move back to Dankar where I can sail independently.”

  “I thought you were under contract,” Elizabeth replied, her emotions neutral and showing no sign of being for or against the risky proposal.

  “I am,” Torique said.

  “And you’d be giving up the money,” Elizabeth stated.

  “I know,” Torique whispered.

  “The house, the status in our community, the free doctor visits and schooling,” and she named several more benefits, the whole time Torique was nodding his head.

  “I would give it all up,” he said sternly and rose from the table and stood there in defiance, not against his wife, but to The Crown. “I cannot, no, I will not sail The Coral Rose again!” Torique yelled out, his strong fist shaking in the air.

  “I can’t,” he pleaded to his wife as he sat back down and gently took her hands. “I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. I’m a wreck and I can’t live with myself any longer, and the worst part of it all,” he paused, “is that I can’t tell you why.” Torique gazed into Elizabeth’s eyes and saw the understanding in them.

  “Then I would give it all up, too,” Elizabeth said with warmth. “I want my old Torique back. I love you and I would go anywhere with you.”

  That night, Torique slept better than he had in months and he dreamt that he was on a sandy beach. He was there with his family and they were enjoying a hot summer day. Angelica sat playing in the sand in a bright colored dress. She was building a sandcastle for the queen of all the realms. It looked more like four lumps of sand, but she didn’t care.

  Elizabeth stood staring out at the ocean in a cool summer dress and she had her hands on her hips and was imitating a neighbor that lived on their street. Torique laughed and lay back in the hot sand, feeling the waves of heat relax his tense muscles. It was the perfect day, and his precious daughter kept telling him so.

  The next morning a strong knock on the door woke Torique from his wonderful dreams. He went down the hardwood steps of his lavish two-story home and walked through a wide entryway to the large front door. He looked through the peephole and a concerned look crossed his sturdy unshaven face. He grabbed at the solid brass handle and unlocked the door, then he opened it and greeted the two soldiers of The Crown.

  “Torique Waterrun?” asked one of the gruff men.

  “That is me,” Torique replied.

  “We are here to escort you to City Building. We will give you a moment to get dressed for the road.”

  “I understand,” and Torique closed the door and went back up to his room to get dressed and say goodbye to his wife. This would be his chance to explain to Captain Blears that he needed to get out of his contract with The Crown so he could move back to Dankar City. Torique considered Blears to be a good man and he believed he could convince the captain to let him out of service.

  Torique rode in a small fancy carriage pulled by two strong horses, and half a dozen knights rode escort as they traveled through the city. They arrived at a large brick building several stories high and encompassing an entire city block. It was City Building, and it held all the important officials for the city of Fantior and all the small towns that surrounded the area.

  Once inside the heavily guarded halls of the main structure, they walked quickly to the third floor, climbing several sets of stairs and ramps to get there. They moved hastily down a long hall and went into a large room with four short rows of empty chairs. Two guards stood at the double doors and a man sat behind a large desk at the back of the room. Torique immediately walked over and greeted Captain Blears.

  “It is good to see you again, Captain.” said Torique, almost being too friendly.

  Captain Blears stood up and reached out across his desk to shake Torique’s hand.

  “It is good to see you, too,” Blears replied, but he did not seem as pleased. “Sit down, Torique, we have much to discus.”

  Torique reluctantly sat in an uncomfortable wooden chair in front of Blears’ large desk. The chair was made short so the person sitting in it would feel small and insignificant. Torique just wanted to tell Blears that he could no longer work for The Crown and he had intentions on moving away to sail as an independent, but he was nervous and hesitant to speak. Captain Blears started talking and it was too late to interrupt. The captain had short graying hair that hinted his age in the sixties. He was short and thin, but strong for his age and had been in the army all his life, and his dark colored eyes showed the cunning and wisdom he’d earned from it.

  “The Coral Rose is undergoing maintenance but will be ready to sail in less than a week. King Uriah is sending five hundred ships to the island and you will lead them.”

  “Five hundred ships,” Torique gasped in disbelief. “What is their cargo?” he dared ask.

  “Guess,” Blears replied with an exhausted look. “Now, you will need to be in Dragonport in four days and have the ships into deep water in no more than a fortnight. Am I understood, Captain Waterrun?”

  Torique nodded his head slowly and then finally mustered the courage to speak out.

  “Sir,” Torique started, lowering his voice to keep the two soldiers at the door from overhearing, but the room echoed, and it made him sound suspicious. “I would like to resign from my position as captain of The Coral Rose. I want to move up north to sail as an independent,” and he gave Captain Blears an encouraging smile.

  The captain returned his look with an expression that appeared to be stone. He stared at Torique as if he had no time for his jokes, so Torique reiterated what he had just said.

  “I can no longer work for The
Crown,” Torique said and he glanced at the two soldiers, who gave him cool looks of skepticism, their dark eyes challenging him to be foolish enough to say more.

  Captain Blears just sat back and folded his arms against his chest. His look was at first annoyed, but then a soft smile appeared on his face and he nodded his head subtly.

  “I understand, Captain.” Blears said and Torique’s heart inflated.

  “Thank you,” Torique said as he stood up and reached out across the desk to shake Blears’ hand. The captain sat forward but did not stand as he took the offered hand.

  “Good luck to you, Torique,” Blears said and then called out to the two soldiers at the door. “Make sure the captain is escorted back to his home.”

  “Thank you,” Torique kept repeating as he backed out of the room. Blears just waved him off and looked down at papers that spread out across his desk.

  That night, Torique felt better than he had in years. He bathed and shaved and took his family out to the finest eating gallery in all Fantior. He made love to his wife for the first time in a very long time. He slept as he had never slept before. He only had dreams he could not remember, and he felt fresh and clear-headed the next day.

  They all started packing that morning, for Torique wanted to be gone from Fantior by the end of the week. They would stay with an old friend that lived in Dankar until they found a house of their own. Angelica kept crying and saying that he had ruined her perfectly good life. Torique was positive they were doing the right thing and he constantly danced around the house, stopping to take up Elizabeth in his arms and dip her romantically, lowering her almost to the floor and giving her a gentle kiss.

  He would grab up Angelica in his arms and swing her around. The whole time the little girl screamed in protest and kicked as she wanted down, but when she was lowered, she cried out again, begging to be swung around once more.

  After lunch, Torique saddled his mare and rode to the inner city of Fantior. He needed to close out his bank account and withdraw all the funds that were there. When he started working for The Crown, almost all their expenses had been covered. He was able to save up most of his earnings over the past year, and they were considerable.