Destiny (31 page)

A doubtful silence followed the words of the Mage.

“Is there no alternative?” Komir asked.

Haradin shook his head. “This is the final moment, where we must risk everything on a single bet. We have no time left. The black tide is about to engulf us. We can’t stop it with individual spells, we must opt for the one great devastating spell with its terrible consequences, or else we’ll be exterminated. There’s no other option.”

“Will you be able to conjure?” Aliana asked. “You look exhausted…”

“I believe I’ll manage to invoke it, or at least to initiate it. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to control it; that’s something I can’t know beforehand… and it’s quite likely that I won’t be able to… Once I begin I don’t know what will happen. Its power might consume us and be the end of us. I’m not concealing the fact that it’s a great risk. That’s why the decision isn’t mine. You are the Bearers, yours is the choice.”

Hands joined, the five exchanged determined looks, but not one of them hesitated. They all knew what was at stake. If there was no other option, they would do what Haradin suggested.

“Let’s do it,” Komir said with sudden resolve. “I’m with you!”

“Let’s do it!” the rest of the Bearers cried.

Haradin nodded solemnly and prepared himself. He closed his eyes and in a fateful voice began to conjure. His voice rose above the din of battle around them, like a fatal chant forewarning of the arrival of Death itself.

Komir’s medallion flashed intensely and remained lit as the Mage invoked his spell. Next came Aliana’s, then Iruki’s, then Asti’s and finally Sonea’s. All five medallions shone with blinding light, each in the hue of its own element. It was as if five stars from the heavens had fallen to earth and flashed in anger. The power of the medallions flowed towards the Mage, who was acting as a channel.

Haradin raised his arms to the sky. His face showed titanic effort as he tried to control the power involved. A beam made up of the five hues of the medallions shot out of his body towards the immensity which covered them. Haradin became rigid as the energy and power of the medallion flowed through his body, and it was clear that he was undergoing tremendous punishment. Komir watched as the medallions fed Haradin’s Power, and the Mage in turn guided this Power towards the sky. The Mage’s feet did not touch the ground, but floated two hand-spans above it.

“I… don’t… know… whether I can… control it!” Haradin cried from where he hung suspended in the air.

Suddenly the sky above their heads began to change color. The bluish-white turned yellow, then quickly darkened to orange, spattered with black streaks. The sunlight faded gradually until the sun itself was eclipsed behind the orange layer which by now was turning red and covering the whole sky until it vanished on the horizon. In the blink of an eye a blood-red night had apparently come to cover the entire plain, forests and hills around them.

The Mage’s face was contorted in pain. “It’s… too much… Power…” he groaned.

The Black Army’s assault was slackening. Everybody was watching the sky, which looked as though it had been cursed. When it turned the color of volcanic magma, the fighting came to a halt. Komir felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

There was intense agony on Haradin’s face. His body was rigid, as if he had been struck by lightning in the midst of a storm. He began to shake. He was beginning to lose control.

“Hold fast, Haradin! Hold fast!” Komir shouted.

Half-suspended above the ground, the Mage began to convulse. He was losing control.

“We have to do something,” Sonea said. “If he loses control, we’ll all die,”

Aliana watched the immense power they were generating. “The spell will engulf us,” she said.

“What do?” Asti cried, eyes filled with terror.

Komir saw Haradin beginning to spin in mid-air, and without stopping to think reached out a hand to support him. At the touch there was an explosion of energy, and Komir felt a sharp pain race up his arm as if he had been burnt.

“Komir!” Aliana cried.

For a moment the Norriel felt a pang of fear and looked at his arm. He had a burn, but it was not serious. Haradin no longer spun, and his convulsions seemed to be lessening.

“Grab hold of him, we have to help him!” Komir told his companions. “Don’t worry, it’s just a burn!”

Aliana reached out and held Haradin. There was another explosion, and Aliana gave a cry of pain. But she did not let go of the Mage. At once Iruki did the same, followed by Asti and Sonea. All of them suffered the adverse effects of the touch, but now Haradin was calm. With their support, suspended in mid-air, the Mage began to control the Power of the Medallions.

“Storm of fire! I summon you!” he called at the top of his lungs, and the five medallions flashed in unison one last time. A flaring beam of light issued from of the Mage and ascended to the sky. The sky turned reddish-black with a deafening blast, as if the Father-God had split its soul in two.

And it began to rain scorching fire.

An inferno fell from the sky over everything around.

In a matter of moments horror ran wild among the enemy soldiers, who fell scorched under that incendiary rain. Thousands of throats screamed in agony as they burst into flames, causing the fire to spread along their ranks while they tried in vain to flee. Everything was now chaos and despair in the dark army. They burnt as if the gods had cursed them from their dwelling above the clouds.

Komir kept his eyes on the dome above his head, praying to the three Goddesses that it would hold.

The enemy soldiers were running away in panic and confusion.

Haradin raised his arms to the heavens.

“Rain of comets! I summon you!” he called, and the five medallions flashed again.

Hundreds of fragments of flaming rock fell from the sky, to crash over the enemy hosts with tremendous explosions. The sky had broken open, and shards of igneous rock hurtled to the ground and exploded.

The power of those Ilenian spells was as horrendous as it was unimaginable. The enemy soldiers tried to reach the forests, but they fell with their bodies engulfed in flames. There was no salvation. The infernal rain consumed them amid explosions of fire. Those closest to the defensive circle hurled themselves desperately against the Norriel warriors in an attempt to escape, and were quickly put out of their misery. That rain of fire and meteors was the mightiest spell Komir could have ever dreamt of seeing. In the space of a few moments, thousands of enemy soldiers suffered a horrible death. The greatest army ever gathered together on the face of Tremia suffered a catastrophic defeat.

Not one enemy soldier survived.

The forces of the Black Army were annihilated.

Haradin lowered his arms, and the rain of death ceased. The great Mage fell to the ground unconscious, worn out by the titanic effort.

Aliana knelt beside him.

“How is he?” Komir asked.

“Alive, though only just. The power of those spells was too much, even for him. He’s been on the verge of death.”

“They were incredibly powerful Ilenian spells,” Sonea said. “No man should ever attempt them, not even with the help of the medallions.”

The sky cleared and the sun came out once again. Komir saw that thousands of burnt bodies lay scattered over the plain. The stench of burnt flesh was appalling.

“We’ve… we’ve won,” Iruki said. There was incredulity in her voice. “They’re… they’re all… dead…”

“Dead, all, yes,” Asti agreed.

“It’s insane,” said Sonea. “The power of Ilenian magic is amazing.”

Komir shaded his eyes with his hand and scanned the battlefield. There was nothing to be seen but charred corpses.

They had won.

They were safe.

“It’s a miracle,” he said.

“It certainly is,” said Aliana. “I never thought we could make it, to tell the truth. But we have. We’ve defeated all the forces of evil, thanks to your courage which united us.”

“Thanks to Haradin,” Komir said, “and the Ilenian magic.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you,” Aliana said, and took his hand.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Bearers,” he replied, and smiled at the woman he loved.

With all the power their lungs could give their parched throats, the surviving Norriel warriors were cheering their victory. They were filled with irrepressible happiness.

The battle had ended.

And they had won!

They had survived!

Against all odds.

The cries of joy spread to the Rogdonians, who all cheered and hugged each other amid laughter and joyful exultation. Some men shed tears, unable to restrain themselves after what they had been through, but a feeling of joy overcame those courageous men who had fought on, without retreating a single step, when all seemed lost. And their dedication, honor and courage had enabled them to survive. They laughed and cried at the same time, releasing all the terrible tension of what they had gone through.

The nightmare was over and they could rest at last. Soon they would return to their homes and take up whatever remained of their old lives. The cheers soon gave way to singing. The Norriel sang with deep voices about heroes of victories past, victories like the one they had just won. The songs rose to the heavens like prayers to the three Goddesses.

Komir tried to approach Hartz, who was being tended to by Kayti, but the big Norriel glared at him so furiously that he understood his friend wanted nothing to do with him. Komir turned away, hurt, and withdrew without a word, not wanting to make things even worse. He went in search of Master Gudin. The great warrior was singing with his men, sword held high. He was singing with his whole being. Somewhat to his right, Gerart was walking among the Rogdonian survivors. The King, surrounded by his men, could barely stand, but he greeted them with kind words and praised their honor and courage.
He’ll be a good King,
Komir thought.

The songs of his fellow countrymen raised his spirits. They truly were brave, lion-hearted men. He went on to Haradin, who was lying unconscious with Aliana kneeling beside him. Worried by the Mage’s state, he gave her a questioning glance.

“He needs lots of rest, but he’ll survive,” she assured him, and a faint smile illuminated her face. The simple gesture filled Komir’s heart with hope. He looked up at the sky and sighed.

“And you?” he asked the Healer. “How are you?”

“Quite tired, but I’ll be all right.”

“You should rest and recover, you worry me… I wouldn’t want…”

Their eyes met, and there was no need for Aliana to reply. Komir understood that she knew about his concern, and that it was reciprocal.

Lindaro, who had been busy tending to the wounded, came up beside them with two other Priests of the Light. They were carrying a bloodstained stretcher.

“We’d better take Haradin back to the Castle,” the man of faith said. “This isn’t the right place for him.”

Aliana stroked the Mage’s face. “Could you tell my Sisters to take good care of him? He needs plenty of rest, and we must make sure we don’t lose him…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell them. We’ll take good care of him.”

The good priest waved them farewell. “I’ll come for more wounded in a moment.”

“I don’t know how you do it, you seem tireless,” said Aliana, smiling at him with a look of exhaustion on her face.

“The Light has blessed me with a light body,” he said. “I may not have much strength, but I have plenty of energy.” He smiled and went away towards the higher part of the city.

As Lindaro was leaving, Lasgol appeared and greeted them with a smile.

“A day which will go down in the annals of History,” he said.

“It certainly will!” Komir agreed.

“We managed it, but it was dangerously close,” said Aliana, who had sat down on the ground to rest.

Lasgol sat down beside her.

“It was indeed,” Komir said.

“The men are happy,” said the Tracker.” All they need is beer.” He was watching the Norriel, who were singing with growing vigor.

“They’ve survived when they thought everything was lost,” Komir said. “I could sing myself.”

“We should,” said Lasgol. “I don’t know the Norriel songs, but I can clap along with the tune.”

“Me too!” said Aliana.

Komir laughed, and Aliana and Lasgol soon joined him.

Hartz got to his feet and to Komir’s surprise, came over to them.

“Do you mind if I have a moment with him alone?” he said.

“Of course,” Aliana said, and Lasgol nodded.

Hartz beckoned to Komir, and the two Norriel moved a few steps away. Komir watched his friend’s face, waiting for his hostility. He feared a new outbreak over what had happened. But there was no enmity in the big guy’s eyes; they were dull, which was something very unusual. Komir waited expectantly, not knowing what to do or say.

“I’m not really keen on the idea…” he began.

“Of…?”

“Of talking to you.”

Komir stared at him with surprise. “But that’s what you’re doing.”

“It isn’t because I want to.”

“Then why?”

Hartz jabbed his thumb behind him at Kayti. “She’s making me do it,”

Komir looked past him and saw her sitting on the ground, watching them.

“What’s she making you do?”

“Make my peace with you.”

This surprised Komir, who would not have expected it of Kayti. “Well, it does credit to her.”

“Let’s be clear about this. I don’t want to.”

“Duly noted.”

“You shouldn’t have stopped me.”

“They would’ve killed you…”

“That’s what Kayti says, though I’m not so sure.”

“I know you’re a mighty warrior, an unequalled one, and that with the Ilenian sword you’re a cyclone of death. But even so, you couldn’t have dealt single-handed with half the Black Army.”

“Maybe no, maybe yes. We’ll never know.”

“Well, you sure are pigheaded…”

“She says that too, all the time. And I don’t like it!”

“Easy… if you want to be in the right, I won’t deny you.”

“That’s better.”

“Anything to have peace with you.”

“Fine. Admit you were wrong and I’ll think about it.”

Komir gave a long sigh. He knew perfectly well he had done the right thing, that if his friend had not been stopped he would be dead by now. But as far as Komir was concerned, Hartz’s friendship was everything. He was not prepared to let that incident get between them. If he had to lie and admit he had been wrong, then he would swallow his pride and do it.

“Fine. I admit it. I was wrong to stop you.”

“Then you admit I’m right?”

“I do admit you’re right.”

“That’s good!”

“So you’ll think about it?”

“Hmmmm.” The big man looked at the sky and folded his arms.

“So?”

“I’m thinking.”

“And will it take you long?”

“I’m not sure. I was very angry.”

“You said you
were
. That means you’re not anymore.”

“You got me there!” Hartz exclaimed, and next thing he gave Komir such a bear hug that he lifted him off the ground.

Komir could hardly breathe, but he was overjoyed.

“Put me down before you break my back.”

“No way,” the giant said. “Just a little more for the hard time you’ve given me.” He squeezed harder.

Komir was on the point of fainting when Hartz dropped him. He was left sitting on the ground, half-stunned.

“So you just think twice next time,” his burly friend said.

Komir smiled inwardly, without giving anything away. He would do the same thing again and save his friend, but he was not going to tell him that.

The big Norriel stretched. “Ah, now I feel much better.”

Out of the corner of his eye Komir glanced at Kayti, who looked back at him. He acknowledged the redhead’s generous gesture with a small bow. She gave him a nod in return. He went back to Aliana and Lasgol and with a broad grin dropped down beside them. Gradually the rest of the Bearers arrived, and they all sat down in a circle.

And rested.