The Children of Calm (27 page)

Rylek imagined he could hear the crying voices of the long-dead Aenosh souls on the bitter wind as they stood there looking upon the domed building. He wondered how many there were trapped inside, desperate for reprieve, justice, and vengeance.

“Yes, that day shall come soon,” Altan said softly, as though he were reassuring the souls inside. “Endure for just a short while longer.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes, huddled together in respectful memoriam, frozen in guarded vigil, and desperate to feel the golden warmth of the sun on their skin again. But all Rylek could feel was the numbing cold on his face, and a paralyzing helplessness in his heart.

***

“Come, my friends,” Altan said eventually. “Let us move along. There is still much to see and warmer places to go.”

He led them back the way they came, down the hillside towards the volcano. It grew darker as they went, and Rylek felt it was fitting in light of the knowledge he had just obtained. He could not ignore the sinister mood that had suddenly settled upon the ruins of Khragzul. Though his curiosity craved to learn more, the paranoia continued to grow and he longed to be gone from the place.

“In case you were wondering,” Altan said, “
Khrag’leMae
roughly translates ‘strength from the deep.’ When the Aedaar passed sentence on Teravihn’dael, they mockingly referred to it as
Khragzul
, or basically ‘empty power.’ And though I usually use that name, I do not buy into the notion that the Aesid are powerless. This is why I do my best to silently observe them occasionally. It is difficult to keep a predator caged, for it will bide its time by gnawing on its bitterness and becoming far more dangerous than it had previously been. Thankfully, I have never seen reason to grow concerned that the Aesid are…
outgrowing
their cage, so to speak.”

They were now at the base of the volcano again, and he led them between more ruined buildings. Rylek wondered where the Aesid must have actually dwelt since it appeared that all of the buildings he had seen at this point were empty and lifeless.

After a few turns between several dark and cold buildings, they came upon a huge gaping mouth of a cave that seemingly led into the heart of Khrag’leMae. Altan stopped off to the side. This area was suddenly heavily trafficked, and dozens of Aesid were walking in and out of the entrance. No snow was on the ground here, for immense torches lined the way into the cave, warming the entry. A resonating din of sounds was coming from further in the cave: singing voices, pounding drums, and occasional shouts. Above the entrance a large image made of multiple long thin triangles was carved into the volcano wall. It reminded Rylek of a winged creature.

Where have I seen that before?
he wondered.

“Here is where we enter,” Altan said. “I will not speak again until we reach a place where we can observe without fear of accidently being discovered. Again I remind you: under no circumstances whatsoever are you to let go of my coat. And remain completely silent! This will be the most dangerous part of our lesson. We will at times go slowly, and other times quickly, but always carefully. Stay alert and loose! Are we ready?”

All four nodded.

“Then may The One guide and protect us.”

***

It became a game of rushing and waiting, anticipating every movement. Rylek realized that even though Altan spoke no words, he knew exactly where and when his next move would take place. It took them about five minutes, though it seemed much longer to him, but they finally found a dark corner far from anyone else. Rylek took the opportunity to observe the room now that he was not consumed with avoiding the Aesid.

The room was large and circular with a very tall ceiling. Great stone pillars supported its weight, and cast long black shadows back towards the entrance - for in the front of the room was a large pool of lava. Rylek realized this was probably the reason he was so warm, as he had previously attributed it to the adrenalin rush from which he was still buzzing. Everything smelled hot, sweaty, perfumed and primal. He himself was soon sweating in his large thick fur coat.

Several dozens of Aesid filled the room, males clothed in small black tunics, and females dressed in small white tunics. They had flung their outerwear off into a pile in the middle of the room. All were doing a variety of things. Some men were beating large drums on one side of the chamber, while some women danced and spun around in circles franticly. Various individuals were singing or chanting together either in a different language or in non-syllabic phrases. The pounding rhythm drove itself into Rylek’s chest, until it felt like his heart was beating in unison with the drums. His blood boiled fiercely with the wild melodies that were being sung, and it was all he could do to keep his feet planted. Occasionally he would see a woman take a man by the hand and lead him down a hallway on the other end of the room. The remainder stood or knelt facing the front of the room, arms raised or bodies bent over in worship.

For behind the pool of lava was a colossus, a form of such magnitude that Rylek knew for certain it was the object of worship for the reverential individuals. In the light of the lava it was a deep dark gray, and somewhat resembling an Aesid. Its torso was long and tapered off into what Rylek thought was a tail. It had no legs. Two muscular arms lay straight down its sides, while two massive wings hung limply. Its yellow eyes were open, but there were no other facial features.

“Behold the temple of the cult of Fornrihgula, cursed of the Aedaar,” Altan said, “and the sealed being himself, Fornrihgula!”

Rylek felt a wave of shock run through him as what he had assumed was merely a massive statue was apparently an Aedaar. It was then that he noticed an odd waving shimmer in front of Fornrihgula, as though it were underwater.

“Fear him not!” Altan said. “He is sealed away for eternity and can neither hear nor see anything that takes place in this room. Herein lies the other reason the Aedaar blocked all heavenly light from reaching the surface: for the Aedaar must have near constant contact with sunlight, or the weakened form of sunlight known as moonlight. In the same way that mortal life requires food, water, and oxygen, the immortal must have water, sunlight, and oxygen, respectively. As long as the sun is never permitted to shine in this wasteland, there is little to no hope that Fornrihgula shall ever be able to emerge from his seal. For several thousands of years he has been here, wasting away the millennia, until The One passes utmost judgment on him. That will occur at the end of days.”

It seemed to Rylek that his voice carried a note of sorrow.

“You can see that instead of repenting of their ways,” he continued, “the Aesid have utterly forsaken Good and have chosen instead to adore a previously powerful but now powerless being. Their utter contempt for the Aenosh would drive them to murder you if they knew we were here among them. They have allowed bitterness to take root to such a degree that they abhor all life that is neither of themselves nr Fornrihgula himself. Long have they sought and pursued the Forbidden Artes to find ways to break the seal, to revive him to his previous glory. But, to this point in time at least, their efforts have been futile. If they are ever able to find a way to break the seal, the Aedaar will reap the fruit of their foolish seed.”

He then sighed sadly, and Rylek wondered what it was he was obviously not saying.

“This place nauseates and depresses me,” Altan continued after a long pause. His voice was now unquestionably filled with sorrow. “The fools…the fools…” he muttered as his head sank deep into his chest. After a bit he raised his head again and spoke with a firm voice. “Come, let us be away from here. I am sure you have many questions.”

As they walked away, Rylek found it difficult to take his eyes off the imposing figure of Fornrihgula. It was similar in some ways to the figure of the creature he and Tresten had seen in the sealed room in Perdeisolen. Then suddenly something caught his eye. It appeared to him that there were tubes and wires running from the back of Fornrihgula to some unseen end. But there was no way of asking Altan about it at the moment, so he made a mental note to ask him once they were safely in Calabranda.

Once more they spent a great deal of time evading the Aesid, who seemed utterly oblivious to their existence. The combination of the scents, music, warmth, stop-and-go action, and exhaustion caused Rylek’s head to start feeling light and dizzy, and the whole process began to feel like a surreal dream. He could not wait to get back outside and be slapped back into reality by the cold air.

However, despite how he was feeling, everything was actually going smoothly, and they were almost out of the cave. But just as soon as Altan led them on a fast break to get to another safe area, Tresten suddenly screamed out in agony. Rylek looked back at him since he had fallen behind so quickly, and saw he was collapsed on the ground, clutching his head with both hands. Altan immediately wrapped his arms around the other three and hurried back to him, but it was too late - he had been spotted. The female Aesid were screaming and shrinking away in terror from Tresten while a few of the males, after recovering from shock, surrounded him quickly and picked him up, binding his arms behind his back. Tresten would not stop shrieking. Rylek helplessly watched as another male walked up to the captured Tresten with a spear and swung the butt end around so that it smacked him hard in the face. He instantly fell unconscious and went limp in the arms of the Aesid. They took Silran and its scabbard from him.

Rylek tore himself from Altan’s grip, stripped off the coat and drew Faldrahil. He was in such a frenzied state of mind that he had no plan other than to slay as many as he needed in order to free his friend. Before he knew what he had done, one of the Aesid that held Tresten lay dead before him.

But as he was raising his sword for more, Selenor’s voice came ringing into his head.

“RYLEK!”

He paused long enough to look back and saw her standing with Lana and Altan, terror and shock on their faces. In that moment a couple of things happened. First of all, he realized the Aesid could see all five of them, and they were all soon to be either captured or killed. But before he could decide what to do with that knowledge, the Aesid that knocked out Tresten likewise struck the side of his head with the spear. All went dark as he hit the ground.

Chapter Thirteen:

Visions and Vocamancy

The wind was strong and fresh
from where Rylek stood. A small platform jutted out from an opening on the heights of Khrag’leMae, and from there he could look down upon all of Teravihn’dael. Dozens of slender black minarets and towers pierced the azure sky, and occasionally a light wispy cloud would sweep through the city like a phantom fog. Lush trees and gardens filled the spaces between the towers, and far off in the distance were other smaller floating rock masses, just large enough to sustain grass and trees. The air was also busy with Aesid flying to and fro on their own personal businesses.

As he looked upon the scene, he found himself moved to tears. At first he assumed it was caused by the overwhelming beauty of what he beheld, but gradually he realized it was mingled with an unspecified sorrow. In many ways his heart believed these were the final days of the great wonder of Mira, the majestic floating continent of the Aesid. But then reason wrested control of his thoughts, and pride helped him to remember Teravihn’dael was invincible, untouchable to the filth on Mira’s surface.

Aware of a second presence, he looked to his left and saw Selenor; or, upon further examination, someone who at least greatly resembled her.
Her long lost twin sister
, he thought to himself. She had wings like the Aesid, and was dressed in a thin white strapless and sleeveless cloth that fell just short of her knees. Though her wings were not moving, he noticed she hung suspended in the air, the toes of her bare feet inches from the rocky ground. She too was looking out over the city, and her hair blew behind and to her left. Her chin was raised ever so slightly, elongating her neck. Rylek could not take his eyes from her, she was so beautiful. Either she did not mind his staring, or she was not aware he was there.

Several minutes passed in silence. Then she slowly lifted her left arm and pointed towards the city. “This was the glory of my people,” she said slowly and richly.

The voice had an effect on Rylek that made him forget everything else but her. All he could see was her radiant form, all he smelled was her soft fragrance. His blood began to race through his veins, and he could feel his heart pounding away in his ears.

She then slowly turned her face towards him and held his eyes; hers were of a deep rich sapphire, sparkling wildly in the daylight. He swore he had never seen such beauty, such flawless and peerless grace. His hands began to shake from the nervous energy he was no longer able to contain.

“Although it has temporarily fallen from its former reigning throne,” she said as she slowly dropped her arm back to her side, “the days are soon approaching when it shall rise again and place into subjection the follies of the surface nations. Your feeble kings will surrender their crowns, begging for mercy even as we offer none. Your military powers will crumble and wilt as a lone bloom in the parched desert. All shall despair and quail at the sight of our return, for it will not be long. None now hope to stand in our way. Soon I shall be summoning you to myself, and you will do whatever I may bid you - even unto the utmost torturous death you can possibly fathom. And you shall obey with eager and diligent subservience, in the hope of bringing me pleasure.”

Then to his sheerest delight, she gently took his hands and pulled him into her. They slowly descended until they were lying on the ground. Her hair became golden as it wrapped itself around his face. Her hands moved along his back firmly but tenderly, caressing him. His entire body was now quaking as fire burned within his bones. She then moved her lips so close to his ear that her breath ignited fury in his mind.

“I am coming soon for you,” she breathed. “Do not keep me waiting.”

Her lips then found his, and he surrendered his will to her.

***

Something cold and wet jolted him from his dream. An Aesid was standing before him, dressed in black and silver garb, with an empty metal bucket in his hands. He had apparently just been doused with ice cold water.

How appropriate
, he thought to himself.
What was with that dream?

He took a moment to get his bearings. He was lying on his side in a small room, the right side of his head was throbbing, and his hands were tied behind his back. They were apparently not in the lava-lit temple anymore, for the walls were not crudely carved out of rock but were smooth and shiny black. Small multi-colored lights winked on and off in the walls, and cold white lights lit the room from the ceiling and floor corners. His coat had been placed on a table made of the same material as the room. Another Aesid stood behind him, arms crossed, holding Faldrahil in its scabbard. He was dressed similarly to the other Aesid. There was no one else in the room.

Is this where all the obsidian made its way to?
he wondered.

He pulled himself up to his knees, doing his best to swallow the pulsating ache in his head.

“Where are the others?” he asked aloud.

This caused the Aesid standing behind him to drill him in the back of the head with the scabbard, knocking Rylek forward and planting his face on the floor. Instinctively he turned his face away as he fell, but the side he chose to bear the impact was the side that was already throbbing from being hit the first time. He sharply drew in his breath as his head screamed at him.

I’d better be careful with all of these head injuries
, he mused.
I might crack up.

The Aesid in front of him set the bucket down and took a step towards him. “It is so very odd to hear your lowly uncivilized speech here within our walls,” he said. “I have not uttered anything in the profane tongue since I was a youth. I find the diction to taste utterly putrid.” He rose to his feet and a curious look spread on his face. “And yet I surprisingly feel a peculiar thrill of joy at the same time; the same kind of joy I experience when I know I am…misbehaving.” An evil glint shone in his eye. “But regardless of how we choose to speak with one another, I am the one who will be asking the questions. You shall answer them all.” He squatted down by Rylek. “We have very certain ways of making sure we get the truth out of you, and I have a way of knowing whether what you are telling me is true or not. So let us not waste any of my time or of your time, shall we?”

“Please, I’ll tell you whatever you want,” Rylek said, “just as long as I know the others are alright.”

The Aesid studied him for a minute and then helped him back to his knees. “Very well,” he said, “they are no worse off than you, for the moment anyway. But that will depend on how well you cooperate with me.”

Rylek noticed in this artificial light that these Aesid were even paler in complexion than Andulibar and his people. Their skin was a sickened marble-gray, their eyes were a bright pink, and they wore their snowy-white hair long and full. He was struck with how coldly beautiful they were, and how their contrasting attire made them seem all the more menacing.

“You may address me as Pherin,” the Aesid said as he rose again. He took a chair from the table and sat it in front of Rylek. “Would you care to tell me your name?” he said as he sat down.

A drop of what must have been blood trickled down the back of Rylek’s neck.
Fabulous,
he mused again.
Will I ever heal that wound?

“My name is Rylek,” he said.

Pherin studied his face for a moment. “Honest so far,” he said. “How did you come here?”

Rylek paused. He felt it was dangerous to reveal the location of the Twilight Gate.

“I have already examined your friends,” Pherin said. “They have provided me with the answers I required. So either your response will line up with theirs, or I will know you are lying.”

“I was brought here, along with my friends,” Rylek said. “Some of us possess certain…capabilities; capabilities that I don’t fully understand.”

Pherin nodded. “Fair enough. Tell me why you and your friends are trespassing upon our sacred grounds.”

“In all honesty, I’m not sure of every motive,” Rylek said. “But for the most part, we wanted to silently observe your people.”

“To what end?”

Rylek paused again. He knew that the main reason they were here was to help Andulibar and his people to move beyond the faults of their ancestors. But he did not want to risk exposing their hidden location.

“To merely understand history better,” he finally said.

Pherin smiled. “Is that all we have become to you and your joke of a race? A history lesson? Have you so quickly forgotten the fear our people instilled in your hearts as we nearly destroyed you in your inferiority? Were it not for the aid of the usually apathetic Aedaar, your filth would have been eradicated millennia ago.”

“You flatter me with your speech,” Rylek dared. Though he could not explain it, something deep inside was beginning to burn hotly. He heard the Aesid behind him shuffle.

A raised palm from Pherin, however, stopped him. “You are courageous in your wit,” he said, a cold smile spreading across his face. “Foolish, but courageous none the less. That, at least, is to be somewhat admired. Tell me, Rylek, what fills you with such bravery at this, your darkest of hours?”

“I do not fear you,” Rylek said, the words seemingly coming from somewhere else, “because I know we will escape your grasp.”

Pherin smiled again. “Really?” he asked. “It is so pathetic that you actually believe that. Please enlighten me with how you shall escape.”

Rylek shrugged. “I haven’t figured it out yet,” he said, as casually as he could. “But rest assured, I will lead my friends safely from your joke of an imprisonment.” His voice was now building with an authority he could not explain. “And one day I will return here with the power granted unto me by those who have it vested in them. And then I will free the imprisoned Aenosh souls from their prison while I offer you mercy one final time before you and your people will be destroyed once and for all.”

His words and tone were so convincing that for the briefest of moments a shadow crossed over Pherin’s face. But he quickly composed himself and laughed out loud. “Bold words from someone who is about to lose his life,” he said coldly. “Who exactly do you claim to be?”

“You
will not
harm me again,” Rylek said, even as images of the Oathbinder and Selenor flitted before his eyes. But he knew exactly what he could or could not say right now. He could not explain it, but never before had he seen his own destiny laid out before him so clearly. Though he did not know how it would happen, he knew beyond any doubt that they would escape Khragzul. “It has been declared so.”

“By whom?”

“By The One. By Daar.”

Pherin rose from his chair. “You shall not utter that name again,” he said scathingly and softly, “for the penalty is death. Just as it is for the murder you recklessly committed. Your time has come.” He walked around to the other Aesid and took the scabbard from him. Then he circled back towards the front of Rylek, drawing Faldrahil out as he went. “A beautiful, finely wrought blade,” he said admiringly. “It will suit me well. And it shall not inflict
too
much pain on you, I suppose. Understand my mercy by allowing you a quick death.”

But at that moment, the door slid open and another Aesid stepped inside the room. Rylek thought he looked anxious. “
She
is here,” he said to Pherin. “And she demands audience with the Aenosh.”

An expression of shock spread over Pherin’s face as he looked back at Rylek, who looked defiantly into his eyes as if to say
I told you so.
Pherin then squinted at the messenger and said something in a language Rylek did not understand. From the sound of it he believed he was asking a question.

The messenger paused. “She demands we all do so,” he said. “She desires the Aenosh to understand every word we say.”

Slowly Pherin sheathed Faldrahil and looked to the Aesid still standing behind Rylek.

“Take the condemned,” he commanded, then looked at Rylek one last time. “Enjoy your visit,” he said through bared teeth. “I am sure your time with her Ladyship will be most pleasant.” He then walked out the door.

***

The Aesid guard roughly led Rylek from the room and through a long tall hallway. Everywhere he looked he saw the same angular black walls, floors and ceilings. Hundreds of small lights twinkled on and off, and everything shone with a crystalline brilliance. He thought he could hear a slight hum, but he guessed it was his ears ringing from being struck several times.

After a few turns down adjoining halls they arrived at a large ascending staircase. Black banners hung from the ceiling bearing the same design he had seen at the entrance to the cave of Fornrihgula’s temple. Two Aesid guards stood at the top, on either side of a large doorway, holding fearsome spears in their hands.

Rylek was led up the stairs and through the sliding doors, where they opened into a colossal room.

I could easily fit most of Calm in here,
he thought to himself.
I guess all Aesid like large spaces
.