Aylander
was finding the experience of having a physical body again equal
parts exhilarating and disorienting. It was exhilarating because,
for the first time in almost longer than he could remember, he felt
like himself
– there was no longer anything weighing his soul down, as the
transition from a spectral presence back to a creature of flesh and
blood had seemingly completed the task of its cleansing. Aylander
had hope, again, something that, even after Thaddeus had released him
from what had bound him to Atraxos the Black, he'd found elusive.
Hope
is something meant for the living,
he thought. And
I was not, in the strictest sense, alive.
The
disorienting part of having a body again was getting used to the fact
that, in comparison to his spectral form, it had quite a few
limitations. No longer could Aylander float above the ground – he
now had to walk and run just like everyone else, though his magical
abilities would make it so he could do both faster – and he was
once again subject to fatigue, thirst, and hunger. In combat, he
would once again need a physical weapon – of which, he suddenly
realized, he currently had none – and, if he was wounded, he would
feel pain. And,
this time, if I am killed, it will be for good.
“Everything all right,
Aylander?” Zoe asked from beside him. “You look a little
worried.”
Aylander
remembered vividly what, when he was young, he had been taught about
Sorceresses. Though, anymore, they were supposed to be little more
than creatures of myth and legend, it was taught that they were
always to be treated with the utmost deference and respect.
Sorceresses were one step removed from being goddesses, and treating
them as anything less risked invoking their wrath. Zoe – not Lady
Zoe,
as Aylander had insisted on calling her while still having to split
his time between being a ghost and being a prisoner in Thaddeus's
sword – had come to be his friend, however, and it pleased him
that, despite what she was, she was nothing like how the stories said
she should have been.
“I was just thinking about
how, if something happens and I die again, the situation would be
rather permanent, this time around,” Aylander said.
“Aren't
you a cheerful one?” Thaddeus said from behind them. “It's going
to be 'rather permanent' for all
of
us if we can't get past the drakes.”
Aylander glanced back at him.
It still amazed him that someone who looked so human could be his
brother. “That's why we have your sword, Brother. Grandfather
said it would help us defeat them.”
“Unless
he was wrong.”
“Unlikely. What he did to
your sword was very similar to what Sprites did to swords to turn
them into Scourgers. No Scourger ever made failed to do what it was
intended to do. The same should be true of yours.”
“I guess we'll find out soon
enough.”
“Indeed.”
“Where do we go once we've
gotten past the drakes?” Zoe asked.
“In the same direction we were
heading. Toward the Plateau of Leng. And then to the Mountains of
the Moon, beyond.”
“The
Gates of Eclipse. Do you know what lies beyond them, other than the
Amulet?”
“A chamber, built deep under
the mountains. It was said that there were secrets beyond the Amulet
hidden in that chamber, secrets that none but the most faithful of
the True were meant to know, secrets that could destroy everything if
they were ever revealed.” He paused. “I suspect that there is a
physical entryway to the Sundered Halls in that chamber.”
“It
would make sense if there were,” Thaddeus said. “Especially
since, if he gets there first and unleashes the power of the Amulet,
Atraxos will be able to open the Halls.”
“I think I've seen that
chamber,” Zoe said. “In a dream I had after I put Thaddeus back
together.”
“Did you, now?” Aylander
said. “Can you tell me what it looked like?”
“It
was high-ceilinged, but not very large. There was a bed in it, and
an old chair. Neither of them looked very comfortable, and both of
them looked like they were on the verge of falling apart. There was
also a bookcase stuffed full of scrolls.” Zoe stopped and turned
to look at Aylander. “None of that, though, is what I remember
most about that chamber.”
“What is?”
“The
marble archway built into its far wall. It pulsed with light, and,
if you looked through it, you found yourself staring at something
that rippled and flowed like ink. Mother Catharzen said that that
was a spell, a spell meant to keep the archway sealed. A spell meant
to keep what was on the other side of the archway out.”
Aylander's
eyebrows shot up. “Mother
Catharzen?
You saw
her in your dream? You spoke
to her?”
“It was the same dream where
she was given the prophecy about me,” Thaddeus said. “The
prophecy about the Nightslayer.”
Aylander
looked at him. “What?”
“It's true,” Zoe said. Her
eyes flicked to Thaddeus. “Though the prophecy might not have
been.”
“Which
we agreed we were going to talk about later,”
Thaddeus said. “After
the drakes.”
“I'm holding you to that,”
Zoe said, leveling a finger at him.
“As am I,” Aylander said.
Then, when they both looked at him, “I mean, it sounds like her
dream and this prophecy might be important.”
“And
Thaddeus's
visions. I'm sure we're all
going
to want to hear about his little
chats with
Solanas.”
Aylander
looked at Thaddeus, but, before he could say anything, Thaddeus said,
“Later!”
Nobody said or did anything for
the next several moments. Then they all started walking again, up
the shaft and away from the Vault. The surface was waiting.
Night had just begun to fall
when they emerged back onto the surface. Once again, the ruined
village – its name had been Evelron, and seeing it as it was, now,
filled Aylander with equally immense feelings of sadness and loss –
was deserted. Nowhere were there any drakes, or any sign that any
drakes had ever been there. Not that that was terribly surprising –
the myths regarding drakes and their kin all agreed that they left
little to no evidence of their passing in their wake. Where had the
drakes gone, however? Why had they abandoned their quarry instead of
waiting for them to come back out of the cave they'd chosen to hide
in?
“I can't sense them,” Zoe
said.
“Neither can I,” Thaddeus
said. “Can you, Aylander?”
“If neither of you can, why
would I be able to?” Aylander asked. “My magic reacts to them
the same way yours does.”
“Well,” Thaddeus said, “they
might be gone, now, but they won't stay that way. Especially if we
keep standing out in the open like this. I say we keep going.”
“I tend to agree,” Aylander
said.
“I don't,” Zoe said.
Aylander looked at her. “Why
not?”
“Because night is falling.
And because we all need to rest.”
“We can rest somewhere else,
Zoe,” Thaddeus said. “This place isn't safe.”
“We're in Eltara, now,
Thaddeus,” Zoe said. “Nowhere here is safe. We still need to
rest, though.”
“What would you suggest,
Sorceress?” Aylander asked. “Surely you're not thinking of going
back down into the Vault.”
Zoe gave him a sour look. “Of
course I'm not! What about one of the ruined houses in the village,
though? Am I right in assuming that there's more of them below
ground than above?”
It was true. Eltaran houses had
more living space below ground than above, owing to the fact that
Eltarans were largely underground dwellers. Spending the night in
one – even spending the night in one that had been abandoned as
long as the ones in Evelron had been – would be safer than spending
the night outdoors, but, when it came to creatures like drakes and
their kin, that extra measure of safety would be minimal. We have
our magic, however. We'd sense them coming.
“It's not a bad idea,”
Aylander said. He looked at Thaddeus. “And she is right.
We do need rest.”
Thaddeus sighed. “All right,”
he said. “So, which house do we sleep in?”
Aylander grinned. “Mine, of
course.” He started walking. “Follow me.”
When they reached the house,
they found the entrance had collapsed in on itself. Clearing the
rubble with magic so they could get in would have been easy for
Aylander if he had known the correct spell, but none in his
repertoire was able to do the job. He needn't have worried, however,
because, when Thaddeus saw the state of the house's entrance, his
eyes came alight and he began moving his arms in sweeping gestures,
leaving the fallen stone in the entryway gone in just a matter of
moments. Aylander envied Thaddeus's ability to use magic without
always needing a spell – he was a true wild mage, the kind that
hadn't existed since before Solanas the Elder had crowned himself
Magister. I wonder if I would be able to learn to use magic the
way he does? Aylander wondered. Or would my needing words be
too much of a mental block?
Once they were in the house,
they descended down until they were in a room three levels below the
surface. Despite the fact he hadn't been in the house in more than
four centuries, glowlamps located in alcoves on the walls came alight
as Aylander passed them, the static spells within them reacting to
and recognizing his presence. Much of the house's furnishings were
either gone or had fallen into disrepair, though, when they reached
the room where they eventually decided to stop, Aylander was pleased
to see that the artwork on the walls – a mural depicting the Halls
of Paradise from Eltaran mythology – hadn't faded.
“This room was your family
shrine, wasn't it?” Zoe asked once they'd all settled down on the
floor.
“Yes,” Aylander said. “It
was always the most peaceful room in the entire house. And also one
of the least visited.”
“Least visited?” Zoe asked.
“Why was that?”
Aylander gestured at the mural
on the walls. “My people stopped believing in the Halls of
Paradise and the Divine Council – what you call the 'Gods Above' –
centuries before our final fate consumed us. The shrine, however,
has been a traditional part of Eltaran homes for millennia, so,
because we are a people of tradition, it continued to be included in
their construction. My parents called it the Quiet Room, a name for
the shrine that, I heard, was not uncommon.”
“You prayed in here, didn't
you?”
Aylander smiled. “You're very
perceptive, Sorceress. Indeed I did pray in here, using my family
shrine for its intended purpose. I didn't do it frequently –
'religiously', as you humans wound put it – but I did it whenever I
felt the need to do so. You see, a part of me never really believed
that the Divine Council was dead. Not even after seeing the evidence
the Sprites gave to us.”
“Your people believed that the
Gods Above were dead?” Thaddeus asked.
“We had every reason to,
Brother,” Aylander said. “The Sprites showed us things that were
beyond question. They showed us the corpses of gods.” He
paused. “All of them save the seventh, that is. That of Adarion,
the Lord of the Dead.”
“And that was why you didn't
believe, wasn't it?” Zoe asked.
Aylander nodded. “I don't
know what humans believe about Adarion, or even what name they call
him. But, according to Eltaran mythology, he is not just the Lord of
the Dead. He is also the source of all magic. Without him, all
magic would cease to exist. Magic still exists, however, which means
that Adarion still lives. He must!”
The three of them were silent
for a time. Thaddeus produced one of the waterskins, taking a sip
and passing it around. “I've seen Solanas,” Thaddeus said once
everyone had had a drink, capping the waterskin and strapping it back
onto his belt. “Three times since all of this started. He set me
on the quest to find the Wanderer, and he told me he thinks I can be
the Nightslayer.”
“I had a vision where Mother
Catharzen told me the same thing,” Zoe said. “She told me of a
prophecy where, as a Priestess of Adarion, I have to make sure that
that is what you become. But I have to make sure you become the
Nightslayer without allowing you to succumb to the darkness of your
nature, and, in the end, I have to be sure you die in peace.”
There were tears in her eyes as she spoke, and she never took them
off Thaddeus. “Is that prophecy a lie?”
Thaddeus looked at her for a
long time. “I think it was something you needed to hear, Zoe,”
he said at last. “Something you needed to hear, and something you
needed to believe. The last time Solanas came to me, he said
we are very near the end, and that I will be forced to make a
decision that, when it came down to it, he wasn't able to. It will
be a terrible decision, but it will be one that I have to
make. I won't be able to run away from it like Solanas did. In
order to make that decision, and in order to make sure that the
decision I make is the right one, I'm going to need you.”
He looked at Aylander. “And I'm going to need you. The two
of you are my family, now. The woman I love, and the brother I never
knew I even had.”
“You need not worry about me,
Brother,” Aylander said. “You may not look like me, but the same
blood flows through our veins. Wherever you are is where I will be.
From now unto death.”
“Wherever you are is where I
will be, my love,” Zoe said. She reached out and took Thaddeus's
hand in hers. “From now unto death.”
Did Zoe realize that, for a
woman to speak those words to man, it made them a vow of marriage?
“Do you mean those words as you speak them, Sorceress?” Aylander
asked.
Zoe looked at him. Her
expression was puzzled at first, but then it changed as it dawned on
her what Aylander meant. She smiled, then said, “I do.”
Aylander looked at Thaddeus. He
had to fight down a smile at the bemused expression on his brother's
face. It was clear Thaddeus had no clue what was happening.
“Battlemage,” Aylander said, “do you accept these words as they
are spoken?”
Thaddeus frowned, looking from
Zoe to Aylander, then back, again. And then his eyes went wide,
which prompted a grin from Aylander that he didn't even bother trying
to fight. “Do you, Brother?”
Thaddeus looked at Zoe. “Yes!”
he said. He laughed. “Yes!”
“It is done, then,” Aylander
said. “I pronounce you sealed to one another, from this day until
the end of time.”
They all ate some of what food
they had, then, talking about trivial things, laughing, and enjoying
each other's company. For the moment, they were happy, all thoughts
of the return of the drakes, or of the road that lay ahead,
forgotten. After a time, and more because he didn't want to intrude
than out of any real fatigue, Aylander excused himself, leaving the
shrine to the first two people he had ever performed a wedding for.
It didn't disturb him that Thaddeus and Zoe would be celebrating
their wedding night in the family shrine. After all, they wouldn't
be the first couple to do so – or, at least, that was what
tradition said.
