Empire of Bones (28 page)

“Ah good, I see you have taken advantage of this lovely feast I ordered be prepared.”

Banter faded and all heads turned to the hall entrance where a very old Man with sad eyes stood watching. His wrinkled hands were clasped in front of his waist. Once pristine robes were stained, faded through time and use. His beard was long but thin. What hair remained circled a growing bald spot. Dark brown pinpricks peppered his skin.

Rekka rose and bowed again. “Master.”

“There is no need to stand on formality for me, Rekka. I am an old Man, far older than even Master Keiss. A time will come when my title will be used but it is not this day. Tonight, we are all equals. Or so I hope. Truthfully, it’s been so long since we had visitors I’m not sure I know how to properly entertain anymore. My name is Artiss Gran and I am the last steward of Trennaron. Welcome.”

“The honor is ours, Master Gran,” Anienam answered smoothly. “Long have I desired to look upon the wonder that is Trennaron. No story or legend in any of the races of Malweir gives this glorious castle justice.”

“Trennaron is the last home of the gods. Much of what resides within these walls goes beyond mortal comprehension,” Artiss explained. His tone was like a father showing off his favorite child. “I wish times were more civilized. That way I’d be able to give you a proper tour. Unfortunately my…brothers have seen fit to make their final bid for control of Malweir. It is a tragedy that these last days have fallen on you all, but an unavoidable one. If not you it would fall to others. While you do not know me, I know much about each of you. Long have I watched your lives, your trials and tribulations. It does my heart good to know the fate of the world rests in such capable hands.”

“I think I lost my appetite,” Dorl whispered to Nothol and set his food down.

Anienam rose to stand beside the Dae’shan. It was then he noticed that Artiss Gran hovered several inches off the ground. “Time is escaping us, Artiss. We need the Blud Hamr in order to stop the other Dae’shan from bringing the dark gods back to Malweir. Will you help us?”

Artiss Gran smiled sadly. The lines on his face twisted into odd patterns. “Your quest is well known to me for I am the one responsible for sending Rekka Jel to you with a warning. The Blud Hamr is here. It is a powerful weapon capable of destroying the dimensional portal.” He paused. “I would speak with you, son of Dakeb, and Captain Bahr if you please. The rest of you I implore to take advantage of the plush beds and freedom from pursuit. If you are curious, I’m sure Rekka can show you some of the finer points in Trennaron.”

“We’ve come a long way and survived many battles. None of us like the idea of being left out now,” Boen said almost instantly. “There’s enough mistrust between us already. You threaten more needlessly. All of our lives are on the line and I personally don’t take kindly to not knowing all of the facts.”

Any negative reaction from Artiss failed to appear. The elder Dae’shan spread his hands in what was meant as a warming gesture. “I make no efforts to conceal any information from any of you, but what I have to say concerns matters for these two alone. It is their past that I must discuss. Any knowledge I can glean from their confessions will help me formulate the best way to deal with my brothers. By all means, if you feel slighted I invite you to attend this conference. Though, I doubt a brief history of Bahr’s childhood will hold much interest for anyone.”

Satisfied he wasn’t being lied to, Boen nodded curtly and took his seat. There was still plenty of food left and his appetite was waiting. None of the others spoke up, giving Artiss leave to conduct his interviews.

A Dark Past Revealed

“I had this room built to accommodate guests. As an immortal I lack the base Human needs. I haven’t eaten, slept, or used the privy in a very long time. One of the perks of my position I suppose,” Artiss said after his guests took seats in comfortable, cushioned chairs set in front of a roaring fireplace.

Expensive wood paneling gave the room a homey feel, complete with an ornately detailed rug covering much of the marble floor. Rare books filled the shelves running the length of one wall and equally rare liquors on the other. Anienam had never seen the grand library of Ipn Shal the way it was meant to be, before the war, but he imagined this was its equal. Generations of people were born and died without ever stepping foot into a room of this quality.

Bahr resisted the temptation to snuggle back into the high back chair and drift off. Fond memories of sitting in his favorite room at his estate outside of Chadra left him torn between emotions. Thoughts of his old life returned suddenly, mocking his current station. Sailing the oceans and seas of Malweir was liberating but ultimately hollow. He had friends, wealth, and enough of a reputation to keep him well taken care of past his death, but the lack of family left him broken on the inside. He didn’t know which direction to take his life, leaving him floundering in uncharted waters. It was a sad fact he’d been unwilling to admit to anyone, especially himself, since fleeing the burning ruins of his estate several months ago. The pain grew daily, making his life more unbearable the further from home he traveled.

“Captain Bahr, there is a question that I must know the answer to before we proceed further. Your answer will help me base my next decision,” Artiss told him without wasting time. Only he knew how much was left to accomplish before they could return to Delranan and attempt to stop Badron, the Dae’shan, and the dark gods.

Bahr shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t enjoy exploring his past, especially to complete strangers claiming to know more than was possible. Then again, he’d never been confronted with any immortal creature before. Artiss Gran puzzled him to great ends. Bahr found it difficult to place trust in anyone he hadn’t known for years. The cast of characters assembled around him earned it through their actions. He’d only known Boen for longer than a few years.

“Why do I get the feeling this is going to be uncomfortable?” he asked sharply.

Artiss replied quickly. “Because it will be. The past is seldom easy for us to speak of. I should know. My own past is filled with acts of dismal failure. The pain of being cast from the Dae’shan continues to haunt me. If I have learned anything through the centuries it is life is not kind, nor does it care for our individual whims. We are born and cast to the winds. The inert cruelty of it comes with death, only I cannot die, not in the conventional sense.”

“Before we discuss my troubled past I want to know what led to your breaking with the rest of the Dae’shan. Don’t take it personally but I’m finding it hard to accept from one of the beings that has been actively trying to kill us halfway across Malweir. What reassurance can you give me that you are indeed what you say you are?” Bahr demanded. He’d been played for the fool long enough. Time had come to take matters into his own hands.

“Your reluctance is expected, naturally. I sometimes find it difficult to accept and I’ve been mired in this life for a very long time,” Artiss agreed. “Why should you trust me? Honestly, you probably shouldn’t. I’ve been exiled, branded a traitor. The gods, should they ever return, will more than likely reduce me to cinders for my failures. I have abandoned all I once knew and, though I maintain the sanctity of Trennaron, I do so with an empty heart. Some, like the Gaimosian, would brand me coward, others far worse. Why should you trust me? I am the only being in the entire world capable of helping you stop the dark gods from returning.”

Tension filled the ornately decorated chamber. Anienam decided to get involved before Bahr ruined all of his carefully developed plans. “I don’t believe Bahr meant you insult, Artiss. We have come far, losing some of our own in the process and finding ourselves lost in the middle of too many impossible scenarios.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, wizard,” Bahr threatened. “I want to know what he brings to this game that makes me place my hard-earned trust. His words are brutal, honest, and spoken from the heart. That’s good enough for me. Very well, Artiss, let’s get on with this.”

Artiss concealed his relief and passed Anienam a knowing look suggesting he should have trusted the Dae’shan from the beginning. “Thank you, Captain. My question is simple enough in design but more complex to answer. Why did you abandon your claim to the throne of Delranan?”

Bahr froze. Of every possible scenario going through his mind, this wasn’t even considered. He’d walked away from his family so long ago he almost didn’t remember the reasons. Certain pains needed to be smothered. His strength only spread so far. When he finally found the words, they came out slowly and uncertainly. “There was nothing for me in Delranan. My father was a bitter Man. He ruled fair enough but showed little love to either my brother or me. I never felt wanted. His desire for absolute control left a sour taste in my mouth. I wanted nothing to do with politics or crowns.”

“But there is more,” Artiss pressed.

He nodded. “Indeed. I knew I couldn’t escape the responsibility that falls on every firstborn son. I was born to become a king, yet I lacked the conviction to want to be one. All I could think of was the damage it caused in our family. My brother’s jealousy only compounded my torment. Badron coveted my legacy. He always seemed filled with odd hatred for me, as if he knew he should have been born first. It led to many fights and no few broken bones.” He grinned ruefully as almost-forgotten memories came flooding back.

“It’s amazing how different two brothers can be. We’re only a few years apart in age. A lifetime in attitude. Badron always craved power. He was the sort of child who burned the wings off insects when no one was watching. It didn’t take long before his evil streak came out. Not to say he didn’t try. Badron was a very bright boy with more capability than I possessed. He quickly learned the ways of the crown while studying to become something more than merely a second son. I imagine he would have been shuffled off to the Wolfsreik if I bothered to stay and take the crown. The world might even be a better place if he had but I wasn’t going to sit through the abuses any longer than necessary.”

Bahr paused to drink deeply from the crystal mug of ice cold water. A brief look around the room failed to produce the source of such pure, refreshing water. Nestled in the middle of a sweltering jungle, there shouldn’t be any sort of ice or cold of anything. Magic, he surmised, and let it stay at that.

“My greatest mistake, at least in my eyes, was in telling Badron I wasn’t going to take the crown when we were in our early teens. He took that information and used it to his advantage at every possible junction. I believe he poisoned my father’s mind. Soured him against me. I was treated like an outcast. My father was already a hard Man. Every action after that only made it more difficult for me to leave my chambers. Badron drove in the nails harder until I couldn’t wait to flee Chadra Keep. No one chased me the night I did. I’m sure my mother wept but I never went back to see her before she died.

“I never bothered seeing my father either. They were dead and in the ground before I returned from my travels. Somewhere along the way I discovered the folly of my ways. Leaving Delranan to Badron’s greedy hands was a grave mistake. He tried to rule justly at first, but his lust for power drove him down a dark path the rest of the kingdom gradually began to follow. Harnin One Eye became his chief disciple. That combination proved to be my homeland’s eventual downfall.”

“Matters are worse beyond your reckoning,” Artiss added. “But please continue. We will discuss more when you are finished.”

Bahr gave the Dae’shan a queer look but fell back into his story. “The longer I stayed away the more I realized I never should have left. I should be wearing the crown and ruling Delranan in the best fashion possible. The people deserved better, but I had been too weak to accept anything other than my own selfishness. I never bothered looking beyond my personal borders. It’s funny. I hadn’t thought about this in many years, so long I’d almost forgotten it all. Coming home proved easier than I imagined. Badron tried to oppose me but I had commissioned the
Dragon’s Bane
and was building a large estate on the outskirts of town. My powerbase was growing in direct opposition to his. Our rivalry would eventually come to a head.

“Badron came with a company of his private guard. He sought to oust me from Delranan for good and seize my holdings. What he didn’t expect was close to a hundred bawdy sailors who were coming off a week-long drunk and entirely loyal to me. Many good Men died that day. Some were friends, others not. Badron finally broke off hostilities and called a truce. He and I went inside and hashed out very stringent terms. As long as I didn’t interfere with his rule of the kingdom he’d leave me alone. It was a fair enough deal. He got the hassles of crown and state while I built my own empire on the seas. Our deal lasted right up until the moment my niece was stolen from Chadra Keep in the middle of the night.”

He sat back and exhaled. No one living had ever heard that story and the telling took a heavy toll. He felt deflated. His mind rambled without discernible direction. Bordering on the brink of being lost, Bahr couldn’t help but dwell on the decision to abandon his home.
What have I done? Has my selfishness ruined an entire kingdom?

Artiss fixed him with a soft, knowing look. “Your doubts are necessary and well-founded. This war will claim many souls before the end. Take comfort in the knowledge that even had you remained in Delranan the Dae’shan would have found another corrupt soul. Your kingdom would still suffer, for reasons you have yet to fathom. The last nexus in Malweir lies in a long-forgotten set of ruins called Arlevon Gale.”

“The Gale? It’s hardly more than a pile of ground stone,” Bahr said. “What power could possibly lie in such a place?”

“The gods of light were cunning in their punishment. They knew their dark brethren could only attempt a return once every thousand years and in only one of three places. Heroes have risen through the ages and now only one nexus remains. Delranan is the final battleground. If the Dae’shan win it will mean the end of the world as we know it.” Artiss hovered over to the fireplace and stared down into the cackling flames. “One final place. One final meeting of old friends. I was forbidden from taking part in the previous battles. A handful of Boen’s ancestors banded together not long after the fall of Gaimos. They destroyed the nexus at great cost but started something greater. Mankind learned they possessed magic. It all came from Gaimos. The self-proclaimed Vengeance Knights were the founders of the order of Mages.”

He turned and smiled at Anienam. “That’s right, Anienam. Your ancestors were Boen’s. When the smoke clears we find it’s not a very large world after all. The second battle occurred a thousand years ago in the land of Gren. Your own father led a small band of heroes into that dark land and stopped the Silver Mage from recreating the crystal of Tol Shere and opening the nexus. They nearly didn’t. The dark gods were almost entering our world when a young Man stabbed the fabled Star Silver sword into the nexus, ruining it forever and losing his life in the process. A shame really, but all great victories must come through sacrifice. I wish it weren’t so, but not even my immense wealth of knowledge and power is capable of changing destiny.”

It was Anienam’s turn to reel through shock. He knew much of his father’s history but not everything. Some pains had been too open for Dakeb to divulge his darkest secrets. Clearly the mission to kill Sidian in Gren was too much for him to burden others, including his own adopted son, with. Whatever knowledge Dakeb had of the dark gods and the nexus died with him. It was a wound Anienam regretted more given their current situation. He often wondered why Dakeb had chosen him. He was naturally talented but not overtly strong with magic. There was only one possible conclusion. One he dreaded asking but knew he must.

“Artiss, am I Gaimosian?” His words were strained, broken.

Artiss Gran said, “Yes. That’s the reason Dakeb chose you. You have near unlimited potential residing inside you. He knew, as do I, that you can unlock strength not seen since the sundering between the gods. You are the chosen one that will take the war to its inevitable conclusion.”

“Not quite what you were expecting when you got here was it?” Bahr chided, finally feeling superior to the normally smug wizard. While he took personal enjoyment over seeing Anienam squirm with coming to terms over what he didn’t know, he knew their task just got immeasurably more difficult.

“It’s been a long time since I was last caught off guard,” Anienam admitted. “What other delightful bits of lost information do you have for us, Artiss?”

“Not yet. All will be revealed in its proper time. There are some truths you aren’t prepared to receive.” The Dae’shan went back to the fire. “The power of the dark gods transcends everything on this planet. They have always existed. Unlike fairy tales told by loving mothers, the dark gods have always been evil. It is a sad fact that good cannot exist without evil to balance it. Life, you see, is all about balance. Without it we would crumble and fade. The gods of light understood this. That’s why they left Malweir after their errant cousins were banished. One faction cannot and should not have total control over all life.”