Rhapsody, Child of Blood (43 page)

'Merithyn was overjoyed, and returned to Serendair to issue the invitation to Gwylliam and prepare the refugees for the voyage. He promised to return and, as a token of his pledge, he gave her the gift of Crynella's candle, the distress beacon of melded fire and water she had first seen him by, named for the Seren queen who made it for her own seafaring lover.

'Gwylliam was delighted with the news. In Merithyn's absence he had been preparing for the evacuation, and so now three fleets of vessels, almost a thousand in total, were being readied. Gwylliam had waited until he had word of their destination before choosing the final makeup of the fleets, whom he planned to send in three waves to ensure the greatest possibility of survival.

'Upon discovering that the new land was uninhabited, he determined that the army did not need to be in the First Wave. Instead, he sent the people who would design and build the new world, the engineers and the architects, the healers and the farmers, the masons and the carpenters, the physicians, the scholars, and the Filids. While all races were represented, about half of the First Fleet were Lirin, because of the presence of that race in the new world. To protect the First Fleet he sent the Lirin champion, a Lirin woman named Oelendra, who was the Iliachenva'ar, and a few of her retinue."

'The what?" Rhapsody interjected.

'Iliachenva'ar. The word, loosely translated, means 'bearer of the sword of light,' a weapon known as Daystar Clarion. It was a fiery blade, consecrated to the elements of fire and the stars, known as ether, or seren, in their language."

Achmed nodded, but said nothing. So that was how the Seren sword had come to this place.

'At any rate," Llauron continued, "with Merithyn to guide them to the new land, and Oelendra to protect them, the First Fleet was well prepared to sail across the world and survive in the dragon's lands.

'The Second Fleet, made up largely of the same types of people, but with more military might, would set sail a few weeks behind them.

'The Third, and final, Fleet would be delayed until the very end. It was the last chance for people to evacuate, and the army would travel in that Wave to guard their exit. It was with this fleet that Gwylliam himself sailed, having remained behind to encourage as many stragglers to leave as he could. He stayed until the last ship of the last fleet was ready to sail, and then boarded, watching the Island that had been his birthright disappear over the horizon for the last time.

'They say the voyage was dangerous and difficult. Halfway across the ocean a great storm came up, a hurricane the like of which had never been seen before. The legends say that at its eye was a demon of supreme evil, a monster who had caused the storm for the purpose of destroying the fleets." Llauron's face lost for a moment the rapt expression it had held since the tale had begun, and a mischievous look twinkled in his eye. "Of course, if you learn more about the Cymrians, you will see that they suffered from an inflated idea of self-importance. A natural disaster could only have been meant for them, despite all the other innocents who suffered because of it.

'Back to the tale. Merithyn's ship went down. There are accounts that say he died sacrificing himself to the demon at the center of the storm, saving the First Fleet in the process, but more likely he was merely a victim of the hurricane, since his ship broke apart in the storm and went to the bottom with all hands. A few other ships were lost as well.

'Without Merithyn to guide them, the task fell to Oelendra, the Iliachenva'ar, to lead these refugees onward to a place she had never been before. The flaming sword of the stars served as a beacon in the raging tempest, keeping the flotilla together, until they finally made it out of the storm's clutches and to shore.

'The First Fleet landed on the coast of Avonderre, miraculously near where Merithyn himself had dropped anchor. Once they had regrouped, and determined that no other ships from their Wave were coming, Oelendra led them into the lands of the dragon, their host, who had invited them to come. There were two problems, however."

The story, one which Llauron had never related before, had intrigued Rhapsody.

"And what were they?" she asked, trying not to seem overly interested.

'Well, obviously, Elynsynos was extremely upset that Merithyn ad not returned. It was her interest in him personally that had led her to open her lands for the first time to men other than the indigenous Lirin. To say that she was disappointed in his absence is a bit of an understatement.

-

'In addition, she did not know what had happened to him, and felt betrayed. She went on a terrible rampage, abandoned the Tree and her lands and retreated to her cave in the northern wastes, the place where Merithyn had carved Gwylliam's missive: Cyme we inne fir&, fmm the grip of deify to lif inne

'Meaning what?" Achmed asked. His tone was surly.

Llauron smiled. "Of course, how rude of me not to translate. In the Old Cymrian and Universal Ship's Cant it meant 'Come we in peace, from the grip of death to life in this fair land.' Perhaps a better translation of smylte would be serene. It was this phrase that earned the refugees of Serendair the name 'Cymrians' with the people they eventually met here, since that was the first thing the refugees always said upon meeting someone.

'One of the tragedies of this tale, of which there are many, of course, is that if Merithyn had not loved Elynsynos as well, she would have known what befell him. He had given her Crynella's candle, his distress beacon. It was a small item, but a powerful one, because it contained the blending of two opposing elements, fire and water. Had it been with him when his ship went down, she would have seen him, and perhaps might even have been able to rescue him. But he had left it with her to comfort her, as a sign of his commitment. Alas, such it is with many good intentions. And now it only serves as the key ring of an old man."

With that he reached into the pocket of his robe and drew forth a small crystal globe the size of a chestnut. The tiny glowing light inside it pierced the darkness, illuminating the Invoker in a circle of radiance that outshone the fire at his feet.

Rhapsody's mouth opened in awe, despite her best efforts to remain disinterested.

"That's it? That's Crynella's candle?"

Llauron chuckled. "Yes, or a good copy. You can never trust antiquities merchants entirely, after all."

'You bought it? An ancient artifact?"

'Yes; paid quite a sum for it, actually."

'You said there were two problems." Achmed's distinctive voice cut through the reverie that the glow of the candle seemed to have caused. "What was the other?"

Llauron's wrinkled face lost its smile. "What Merithyn did not know was that, when he left, Elynsynos was with child." child? The dragon was pregnant?"

Llauron laughed at the look on Rhapsody's face. "It does make a rather amusing mental picture, doesn't it?"

'Not to me," she said. "I find it very sad. I'm sure she was terrified, as well as lonely and devastated at what she thought was betrayal, especially if she was trapped in a form that was not her own." The Singer grew silent, and the firelight dimmed noticeably.

'Indeed, which is probably what led her to do what she did."

'Which was—?" Achmed prompted, annoyed at the storyteller's tactics.

'When she saw that Merithyn was not among the First Fleet, Elynsynos abandoned the children at the foot of the Tree and left."

'Children?" Grunthor asked. His voice caused Rhapsody to jump a little; he had been silent for almost the entire tale. "More than one?"

'Yes, she had given birth to three girls, triplets, though not identical. As she was an egg-layer in her natural form, a multiple birth was hardly unexpected. When the Cymrians came to the Tree they met the women there; they had grown quickly in the absence of a nurturing mother. Dragons are very resilient, I've been told.

'The women resembled their father, in that they were tall and golden-skinned, as he had been, though they all had features of their mother as well. Because they had the appearance of Ancient Seren, the First Fleet immediately felt a kinship with them.

'The women were blessed with unusual powers, as you can imagine would come from the union of two firstborn races. Because their father had sailed back and forth across the Prime Meridian, they were tied to Time as well as to the other elements.

They were Seers, oracles who could look beyond the moment and into other places in Time. Unfortunately, as a result of this gift they were all insane, though to varying degrees.

'The youngest, Manwyn, was the Oracle of the Future. She was said to have been the most mad of the three, because the knowledge of the Future is the most powerful and the most threatening. The legends say she was often delusional and spent most of her time muttering to herself. And though her gift held great power, it was also, in a way, useless, for it was impossible to distinguish the true prophecies from the madwoman's ravings.

'The middle sister, Rhonwyn, was the Seer of the Present. It was said that she was kind and lucid, but only in the moment, having no memory of her thoughts a moment later when the Present became the Past.

'Of the three, only the eldest, Anwyn, was able to greet the refugees. She held the secrets of the Past, knowledge that was less volatile and dangerous to possess than that of her youngest sibling, and more coherent and meaningful than that of the middle child. As a result, she knew who the Cymrians were, and why they had come, and made them welcome in the lands that had belonged to her mother.

'So the Cymrians of the First Fleet, recognizing her as the living bond between the old world of her father and the new world which was her mother's, made her their lady, and settled into a harmonious union with these western lands and the Lirin of Realmalir.

'Now, to the Second Fleet. Unlike the First Fleet, who caught the brunt of the hurricane, the Second Fleet saw it approaching, being some distance behind the others.

As a result they were able to avoid major damage from it, though a few ships were lost, but were instead blown off course by it.

'When the storm abated, they were too far from the course to correct it, especially since once they crossed the Prime Meridian they were forced back again. Land came in sight shortly thereafter, and rather than trying to find Merithyn's paradise, their leader, the great warrior MacQuieth, decided to land there, in the inhabited country of Manosse. They and their descendants are there to this day."

At the name, each of the three companions felt their palms go dry. Nearly everyone in Serendair had heard of MacQuieth, though the Firbolg knew more of him than Rhapsody did.

'MacQuieth was the Kirsdarkenvar, the bearer of Kirsdarke, the legendary sword of water. He was also said to be the master of that element; perhaps that is why his passage on the sea was safe. And of course he was a great hero, the king's champion,

—the man who slew Tsoltan, the enemy leader in the Great War. He—"

'Llauron, hold up a moment, please," Rhapsody interrupted nervously. Achmed's face twisted into a scowl, and he exhaled in quiet frustration.

She did not see his irritation. "Could you explain what you just said about Manosse?" she asked. "They and their descendants? I don't understand. You said that was fourteen centuries ago. Surely the First Generation Cymrians are all long dead."

Llauron laughed. "One might feel confident in such an assertion, but one might be wrong. Singers; the guardians of accurate details. All right, let me elaborate.

'The First Generation had come from one of the five places where time began, the Island of Serendair. They crossed the Prime Meridian, which is the place the Earth demarks Time, and came to another place, where Time began—this land, the birthplace of the race of dragons—although the Second Fleet landed elsewhere.

'As a result, Time seemed to have no hold on them, and they did not grow old as other mortals did, but remained at the physical age they had been at the time of crossing over the Meridian. The exceptions were the children. They slowly continued to grow and age until they reached adulthood, and then remained there eternally."

'Are you one of them?" asked Achmed bluntly.

Llauron laughed aloud. "Goodness, no, though I wish I could have the longevity and the power sometimes. You must think me very well preserved, young man. No, I'm afraid I'm not. Just an interested student of them.

'If you'll bear with me, I'm almost done with the Second Fleet. A few of the ships, most notably those whose passengers were Ancient Seren and other firstborn races, traveled farther east, not wishing to be part of the western landmass that MacQuieth had chosen. They found instead a small, uninhabited island between the two continents, blessed with fair weather and temperate breezes from the trade winds and a warm sea current. It was a true paradise, and they chose to stay there and make their colony alone, separated from their countrymen. Their land is Gaematria, generally called the Isle of the Sea Mages.

'That leaves only the Third Fleet. Gwylliam's Wave of ships waited until there was no one left on Serendair who was willing -2

to be saved, then sailed into the east wind northward. But they landed well to the south of where Merithyn and the First Fleet had, along the southern coast of what are now the nonaligned states and the country of Sorbold.

'Unlike this rich and primeval forest, kept undisturbed from man for millennia by the dragon who ruled it, the places that the Third Fleet landed were hostile and unforgiving. Most of Sorbold is arid, and that which is not is mountainous or grassland steppes. In addition, those lands were inhabited by people who did not especially appreciate the presence of the Cymrians, and oftentimes sought to drive them back into the sea. The Third Fleet had to struggle to survive, always fighting for what they needed.

'They had two advantages, however. The first was Gwylliam himself. He was a practical man and a resourceful leader, skilled in the sciences, by nature and training a talented architect and engineer. Many of his clever inventions, coupled with his battle tactics, were the only things that allowed the outnumbered fleet to survive.