“He fell protecting Nadea.” I hoped that the truth of his grandson’s final, heroic act would bring the old man some solace in the face of such horror. He could truly be proud of his grandson. It was easy for someone like me to seem courageous. I was strong, I was trained, I had spent decades fighting and killing. I had powers beyond any opponent this world or any other had been able to conjure to test me. Yet even I knew the chill grip of fear and the self-preserving instinct to run when faced with impossible odds. And I remembered how terrifying it was to be human and weak.
Paug had displayed true bravery. He had no combat experience, no fitness, no idea what to do, what to expect, or even how to wield a weapon. He had no reason to think he would be victorious. But he still did what was right. He still acted to defend his friend, and he should always be remembered as a great hero.
I wanted to convey this to Janci, but the pain in his eyes and the pain in my heart when I thought of my young friend caught in my throat and I was rendered mute for a moment while I collected myself.
“Oh,” Janci nodded and looked away to the dishes.
“During the attack, the king, Nanos, Greykin, Nadea, and Paug fled to the Safe Room. The king and Nanos were separated from the rest. Greykin stayed behind to fend off some Loshers. When Nadea and Paug made it to the room, the king was dead by Nanos’s hand.”
“What?” Janci’s tears painted his face.
“Nanos was working with the empress of the Elvens. He killed his father before they reached the room. Paug took up the king’s sword to defend Nadea, and Nanos murdered him.”
Janci nodded and blinked away tears. He looked to his dishes but they were already clean and neatly stacked.
I walked past the counter and wrapped my arms around the old man before the first sobs could rock his frame. At first, he resisted my embrace, but I didn’t let go and he relented, pushing his face into my shoulder and unleashing his tears as any grieving parent would. I cried as well and we stood in the kitchen until the sun came through the small windows of the wall and the gulls outside indicated that it was midday.
“We were heading home,” he said much later, after I had helped him make lunch and we had taken it down to the rocks of the beach to watch the waves roll in. It was the first time he had spoken since I told him of Paug. “It was apparent to all that Nia would fall and Nadea had released him from service. I could tell he wanted to be back there. He wanted to help his friends.” He sighed heavily and looked down again at his food. It was more fish with peppers and cucumber from a garden on the south side of his small cottage. “It was dangerous. I wanted to force him to come home. I wanted to yell at him. He was all I had left in this world. My poor boy.”
I nodded but said nothing.
“A boy has to grow up sometime though. Even if he had known he would die, he would have still gone back. He wanted to be a hero. Like you.” The old man’s words slammed into my heart like a punch from Thayer, though he didn’t say it with any sort of malice.
“I am no hero,” I said and I stood and stretched. I turned back to the old man and his face was open in expectation of more. “I have done unspeakable things. I am the same man Nadea and Paug read about and hoped for, but the things I have done are not heroic.”
“I doubt that, Kaiyer. I do wish to hear of it though. Will you tell me?”
I nodded and then I did. I told him of my father and brother. Of the mother I never knew. I told him of Iolarathe and how we were lovers. I told him how she killed them. I told him of the training under the Elvens and escaping with Thayer along with the rest of our enslaved and newly powered kin. I told him of the endless years running from the Elvens and finally meeting Entas. How he helped train us and form our army. I spoke of stoic Alexia, and how Thayer and I found her being raped by Elven men. Then we talked of proud and honest Gorbanni, and of passionate Malek.
And Shlara.
I spoke to him of all the battles I remembered. How we failed and triumphed and built the army. I said that I loved both Shlara and Iolarathe and knew it to be true; yet the Elven woman never left my thoughts or dreams, so I could never commit to Shlara.
I related the final battle and all its fantastic detail. I explained how I killed the dragons. Janci was fascinated, and again mentioned how he must record the information on the dragons and wurms for the knowledge of future generations. I told him how I fell from the dragon’s talon, found Iolarathe and made love to her again. How Shlara found us and how I ended up killing the woman I should have loved to save the one I did, how I fled like a coward and spent many years in pursuit of the Elven, being pursued by my kin. I told him of the Radicle, the Ovules, and that we had a child.
I spoke of rescuing Iolarathe from Shlara’s Rest and then our capture after we tried to steal the Ovule. Then I recounted my last memory and my horror that Shlara was still alive.
By the time I concluded my long personal history, we had returned to his home and the night bled into morning as we finished a dusty bottle of brandy and a salted haunch of pork, both of which Janci told me he had been saving for a special occasion.
“Do you believe that your generals thought you were coming back to kill Shlara?” Janci asked.
“That is a possibility. Thayer’s question about finishing the job made little sense at the time, but it could be that was what they thought. If she was staying in Malek’s home and they didn’t know I was looking for the Ovule, I can see why they made that assumption.” I churned the idea over in my head a bit more and found it likely. “I didn’t want to tell them of Iolarathe, or my daughter. I didn’t want to give them anything to use over me. I am guessing that strategy ultimately failed though.”
“We haven’t spoken about the circumstances that led you to the shores of our village.” Janci rubbed his eyes and I guessed the old man was using all of his might to stay awake.
“We can talk more about it after some rest.” I began to stand.
“No, please.” He grabbed my hands and gently pulled me back to the table. “I may look physically tired, but my brain has never been more excited and full of energy. I won’t be able to sleep, even if I lie down.” We smiled at each other and I sat again.
“I think I left off with Nanos. He agreed to meet us in the castle’s dungeon. He said he would tell us of Nadea. I was suspicious of him even then, I never liked the little bastard,” I paused as Janci smirked and nodded in agreement. “But I just thought he was a prick. Not a traitor. I never would have imagined one of our own kind being allied with Elvens. It was a trap. The duke, Greykin, and I were captured.”
“Shit.”
“The Elven general in charge of the conquest of Nia was named Alatorict. He asked me questions I did not understand about my clan. He said that they had Nadea in the castle and if I agreed to stay and meet with his empress in a few weeks, he wouldn’t kill her. I negotiated with him further and he threw in the release of Beltor, Greykin, and the queen. I was a prisoner in my room, but there were interesting conversations to be had.”
“Interesting?” Janci asked.
“Alatorict spoke of treaties and asked why and how I had come to this world. I did not understand what he meant, but I tried to act as if I did to get more information from him. My memories were still sparse. He told me that the man named Kaiyer was known as ‘the Destroyer’ and had died five thousand years ago. One of Alatorict’s commanders was responsible for guarding me. I was able to get more information from her in exchange for sex, and an agreement that I would insist she be present when I met with their empress.
“I later learned that they never had Nadea in custody. She had escaped a week prior.”
Janci managed a sigh and chuckle. “I imagined you would have dealt with the situation differently had you known.”
“Perhaps. I did wish to meet their empress, preferably armed with a weapon. I did not understand why they did not simply kill me, but they needed me for information, and they are bound by the terms of their treaties with the O’Baarni to avoid killing our kind. They did not believe I was the real Kaiyer. They feared I was sent by a group intent on preventing their colonization of this planet. They plan to destroy the Radicles and prevent the migration of any more O’Baarni. And though they claim otherwise, I believe their ultimate goal is to enslave the humans here as they had in the past.”
“Horrible. How did you escape?”
“I dreamed of the final battle, of killing the dragons, of Iolarathe and Shlara. I awoke to find my room, and an entire wing of the castle, destroyed. I could hear Nadea, or sense her somehow. I knew she was in the castle and I knew she was injured. I found her, with Nanos, in the Safe Room. Nadea was bleeding out on the floor beside her cousin. I knew he had betrayed us, but I did not yet know he had killed his father or Paug, nor stabbed Nadea. I left him and took Nadea with me out of the castle. She was going to die, so I used my magic to turn her into an O’Baarni.”
“Did it work?” Paug’s grandfather gasped.
“Yes.” I wanted to explain more, that Nadea was not human, that she was the empress’s daughter. But it was not my secret, and it did not seem right for Janci to know before Nadea.
“But she was in a coma for many weeks. I found Runir in the castle and he took me to their army. They had been hiding in Fisherman’s Gorge and raiding the Losher forces. When she awoke, we put our stories together and I realized the depth of Nanos’s betrayal. We argued briefly about what to do next. I wanted to travel north to find Jessmei, Beltor, Greykin, and the queen. Nadea asked me to stay with her army. I had won the argument, but before I could leave, Alatorict's commander raided our camp with a significant force of Elven warriors.”
“The woman who was your lover?” Janci asked.
“Yes. She demanded that I return to the castle or she would kill everyone in our army. I complied and returned with her. On the way back I experienced more memories and apparently I fainted. When I awoke I was in a tent outside the city walls.” As I spoke I felt more memories of Isslata and Vernine returning.
“I finally met with the empress and her generals. She possessed a type of magic I had never experienced, some scent she used to control and manipulate the way others felt about her. I was instantly attracted to her and wanted to please and obey. I suspect this magic helped her rise to power and accomplish all she has. She is extremely persuasive. However, I was able to tone down my sense of smell and regain control. The conversation was similar to those I’d had with Alatorict. She wanted my help locating the Radicle where Nadea found me. She threatened to assassinate Nadea if I did not cooperate.”
“What did you do?”
“I delayed as long as I dared. I wondered if the empress would keep her word. But I had little choice. If I did not tell her, I knew she would kill me. If I did tell her, there was a chance she would have me taken there. It would have given me a chance to escape.” The statement was a lie. I knew that Nadea was Telaxthe’s daughter, and I had intended to use that information as leverage.
“Before I could make my decision, a group of my kin arrived.” Janci’s eyes grew wide. “Do you recall Iarin?”
“Yes. The lanky fellow that escorted my grandson and the duchess?”
“He was an O’Baarni. At some point in the past, a number of them split off from Thayer’s clan. I am unsure of the politics involved, but this new clan has members that scout unoccupied worlds for resources. There is some sort of reward amongst the clans for anyone that brings in a ‘Pretender,’ someone who uses my name. Apparently a few have impersonated me over the years. The Elven and O’Baarni believed I was another imposter.”
“Did you suspect Iarin was one of your people?” Janci asked.
“No. Not really.” I thought back to all the time I spent with the woodsman. “But I always felt comfortable around him. We did have a kind of connection. When I found out, I was not surprised.
“The group of O’Baarni was led by the patriarch of this newly formed clan. His name was Kannath and the empress owed him some favors. He told me that he had captured Jessmei and Beltor. He said he wanted me to return with him through the Radicle to stand trial.”
“Trial? For doing what? Trying to save us from these Elvens?” Janci’s voice sounded gruff from staying up all night.
“For being named Kaiyer. It is a crime now amongst my people to have that name. I actually tried to convince him that I was in fact Kaiyer, but he didn’t believe me.”
“The irony. If they want anyone even named after you to die, they would probably be extremely interested in capturing the real you.” Janci smirked.
“I have a suspicion that someone, either the clan leaders or someone close to the top of their leadership knows that I am not dead. Why else would they want to find anyone named Kaiyer? From what Kannath told me during our travels, the reward for returning a Pretender is great. Enough for him to leave his duties leading his clan and personally retrieve me.”
“So you went with them?”
“Yes. The empress was in a bind. She didn’t have the information she needed from me and so could not let me return with Kannath. The Elvens have tried to get a world of their own for many years. Each of her predecessors thought they had secured one through trade or treaty with the O’Baarni. Eventually, my people would go back on their word and end up occupying the world and either forcing the Elvens to leave or making life difficult for them. The empress believed that if I left alive, I would tell the clan leaders how she sacked Nia and was responsible for many human deaths. I think the clans believed this world to be uninhabited by humans, or at least a civilized population.”