The Record of the Saints Caliber (44 page)

And so it was that Apollyon and his six Judges of Hell amassed their armies and the Age of the Great Falling began. The armies of Hell attacked the realms of men en-masse. Bloody battles were fought across all the kingdoms and the world began to fall to chaos and ruin. Aeoria and her Saints fought alongside the armies of men, but Apollyon’s Judges were strong, and his demons and devils were fueled by the anger of an age of unceasing torment in Hell.

From the Stellarium, Aeoria called down her Angels from the Heavens to help fight. The very spirits of the stars themselves, they were armored in their light and the brilliance was anathema to the minions of Hell. But inevitably, some Angels were killed, and as they died, their stars blinked out from the constellations forever. Seeing the death of the stars delighted Apollyon and his Judges, and they were bolstered by it. Should they win the war, they could cast the world in eternal darkness.

And it was here where the legends became obfuscated by the differing tales passed down by the men of Duroton and those passed down by the men of the southern kingdoms. According to Durotonian history, and the tales as told to Etheil by Solastron, the armies of Apollyon besieged Sanctuary and infiltrated the great cathedral. It was said that Apollyon and his Judges of Hell came before Aeoria and Rallenar. Aeoria warned Apollyon that he would be defeated, but Apollyon refused to relent. And then a terrible roar sundered the sky. Darkendrog, the great black serpent, had come from his hiding.

A great battle of Gods and the last of the Dragon Kings ensued. It was said that Darkendrog killed Rallenar, and Apollyon and his Judges of Hell moved in to strike the final blow against Aeoria. With the last of her powers, Aeoria called down one last Angel. It was Admael, the spirit of Aeoria’s own star. Admael fought and destroyed Darkendrog. When he turned to oppose Apollyon and his Judges, Apollyon made him an offer: strike down Aeoria and they would let him rule the entirety of the mortal earth. Admael, Aeoria’s own guardian, thus turned on her.

Before he could strike down Aeoria, King Tharick, the King of Duroton, burst into the cathedral wielding the mighty Mard Grander. King Tharick and the men of Duroton had just reclaimed the Stellarium from the minions of Hell and had marched to Sanctuary to offer the Goddess their aid. Tharick and his brave captains fought against Apollyon and his minions, but in the end, Tharick would die. The Durotonian legends said that Tharick got one last blow in against Apollyon. So powerful was the strike that it vanquished Apollyon’s mortal body, sending him back to Hell where he has remained ever since.

Unfortunately, the strike also sundered the Mard Grander and King Tharick died in the attack. Tharick’s last remaining captain grabbed the broken fragments of the godly hammer and returned them to Duroton. Admael, having betrayed the Goddess, lost much of his power and became the old, frail man he was to this day. Even his star was stricken from the heavens.

The Durotonian legends were mixed on what happened after Apollyon was defeated. Most agreed that Aeoria had been so injured during the battles, and so distraught over the death of Rallenar and her brother Apollyon, that her body fell into its eternal slumber and was hidden away by Admael. It was thus that to this day Duroton and Sanctuary were always at odds.

Of course, Sanctuary and the southern kingdoms all told a different version of the ending. The version of the legend widely told throughout the world insisted that it was King Tharick who betrayed Aeoria. They said that so power hungry was the King of Duroton that he sought to usurp Sanctuary, just as he had the Stellarium.

In this version of the legends, Tharick broke the Mard Grander when he struck Aeoria, sending her into her eternal slumber. So angry became Admael that he summoned to his hand the full power of his blazing star. As his star fell out of the sky, its very power became his own and he used it to strike down Tharick, the Judges of Hell, and Apollyon all at once. Although Admael had won the day, it was at great expense. So much power had he consumed that his body became old and frail. It was said that Admael placed Aeoria into a casket of star-metal made from his very own sundered star. And thus the Goddess has remained at Sanctuary, in an eternal slumber.

One thing Durotonian legend and the stories of the southern kingdoms agreed upon was the reason for the fading stars. In all legends, the stars began to blink out once Aeoria was struck down. The legends all agree that if the Goddess is not awoken before the last star fades from the heavens, the world will end. Then again, even this had been challenged by the Jinn as of late. The Jinn theorized that perhaps the stars were blinking out because the Angels were still being called down. But if so, to where and who were they fighting and dying against?

Solastron rumbled, waking Etheil from his thoughts of ancient legends. “You remember the story of the Mard Grander how I have told it to you many times.” said the wolf. Here he looked up at Etheil with his large, sapphire eyes. “But I have only told you the tale as it has been known by man. There is a grimmer truth that I feel I must now tell you.”

Etheil knelt down and held Solastron by his shoulders. “Old friend, ever will I be at your side, just as you have ever been at mine.”

Solastron rumbled. “I am a being of a bygone age. Many secrets have I kept, even from you, Etheil.” Solastron tilted his head up, staring into the darkened ceiling of the cell. “I was birthed of Dragons by the very fires of a star. I ran upon the heels of the Goddess as she played in the heavens. Our domain was the rivers of stars. Your ancient forefathers told of a great wolf who chased the moon when he tired of the sun, and thus brought about the days and nights. The wolf they spoke of was me.”

Solastron turned his large eyes back to Etheil. “At the end of the First Age, when Aeoria was made the Goddess Upon the Earth and the long age of peace ensued, I walked these mortal lands by her side. But this world was meant for you and your kind, Etheil. This world was given to man. Never was it meant for Gods to walk.”

Solastron paused, swishing his large tail. He turned away from Etheil and his breath wuffled. “Never have I spoken to you openly of the Goddess,” he said. “And though you may think otherwise, never have I told you knowledge that was not once openly known by your fathers.”

Solastron rumbled softly in contemplation. After a moment he said, “Knowledge must be earned. What I would have you know today was not earned by your kind. For many long years after the Great Falling I remained alone, hating the world of man. For all the good Aeoria did upon this earth, not a single one of your kind could record the truth.” Solastron turned his head back to Etheil and looked him in the eyes. “I will tell you things today, Etheil, if you are so inclined to hear them. But there is one thing you must know. What I offer is not less than an apple from the forbidden tree. Should you take it, you shall never again be the same. The world shall seem a much different place to you.”

Etheil thought a moment. He had always known Solastron to be sober and sage, but never before had the wolf spoken to him in such a severe manner. Etheil pursed his lips and looked at his old friend.

“Make not your decision lightly,” rumbled Solastron. “For I shall bind you by oath beneath the Durotonian sky you hold so dear, that what I speak shall ever remain between us alone.”

“My friend,” said Etheil. “Whatever burden this truth is, I can see that it weighs heavily upon you. Once upon a time you bore my burden. I was a boy, naked and weaponless, left to the Blue Wilds. Whatever burden you have born all these years, if I may help carry some of it, I shall do so without complaint and without regret.”

Solastron looked deep into Etheil’s eyes, as if searching for any doubt. At length he rumbled and his breath wuffled from his snout. He turned his head and swished his tail. “So be it, Etheil Freydir. Let me tell you the truth of that ancient day.

“When Apollyon and his minions breached Sanctuary and entered the great cathedral, it was I alone who stood before them and Aeoria, for she had sent the great white dragon before the armies of Hell that marched against the kingdoms of man. Long did I fight. My paws dripped with the blood of devils and my maw was stained red by the blood of demons. Many there were that day, Etheil, and the great hall flowed like a river with their blood. But then Apollyon managed to slip by me. He bore the black sword of Hell known as Sin in his hands. He raised it against Aeoria, but I leapt to her aid and took its terrible bite.”

Solastron paused and made a low, rumbling sound. “Deep into my chest the sword of Hell sank. But the sword of Hell does not kill. I learned that day the meaning of Apollyon’s domain. Hell is for torment, not death. I fell to the floor, and so terrible were my howls that Aeoria despaired for me. Her pain for seeing my agony made the torment all the worse upon me. I wanted to end Aeoria’s suffering at seeing me and to quench the pain I felt, and so I offered myself to death. But death would not take me. My dominion was the protection of the Goddess, and so long as she lived, my duties were not satisfied and death would not have me.”

Etheil placed a hand upon Solastron’s soft head, but the great wolf turned from him and continued his tale. “I lay upon the blood-soaked floor of the cathedral as Apollyon and his Judges moved in on Aeoria. My helplessness intensified the torment I felt, and when the Goddess pleaded with her brother to end my suffering by taking her instead of me, her words burned into my soul as surely as the very fires of Hell. Duty was my torment, and Hell knew of my every failing.

“Apollyon sheathed Sin, for he knew it had no sway upon his sister. He raised his hands and used all his powers and strength to summon forth a fire from the very heart of Hell. It manifested as a great sphere of all-consuming black flames. It was Hellfire—I knew it at once—and it was meant to consume her and burn her from the very fabric of the world. She offered herself freely, for she knew that if Apollyon were to strike her down, so great would be the crime that he himself would be consumed by it. Aeoria hoped that her death would satisfy her brother’s hate and that the mortal world could then be free of Gods, and man could make his own way.”

Solastron looked Etheil in the eyes. “That is all Aeoria ever wanted. For man to be free. She wanted man free of Gods and Demons and Saints. She felt the earth was man’s garden and that it should be tended by his own hands. So great was her love for your kind that she hoped her death would bring about a new and better dawn.”

Solastron paused again and looked away from Etheil. He rumbled again and then said, “Apollyon delighted in how easily she offered herself to death, but before he could strike her down there was a roar as terrible and mighty as a dying star. Darkendrog had come from his hiding place. So great had been his shame that he had hidden himself upon the dark side of the moon where Aeoria’s eyes could never find him. The black serpent uncoiled himself from the blackened crater where he had been sleeping for the long ages and his fiery eyes gazed into the heavens. He saw that one by one the stars Aeoria had lit for him and his departed brothers were disappearing. Panic rose in him and he sensed Aeoria was in trouble. It was then that the ceiling of the cathedral was torn wide open. Blackening out the very sun was the form of Darkendrog. His red eyes burned like angry suns and I knew he meant to strike down Apollyon.

“Apollyon sent the Hellfire at the great black dragon, but Aeoria drew forth the Sword of Heaven. The sword’s name was Grace and never before had I seen that white steel loosed from its scabbard at her side. As I lay in torment upon the blood-soaked floor, I at once knew the true powers of Aeoria and of Heaven. It was not the sword’s domain to save or kill or pass judgment on any. The true power of Heaven was its ability to forgive with complete absolution, if only those who could see it would accept it.”

Solastron paused for a long moment before rumbling. Then he said, “I don’t know how or why I knew it, but I knew the sword had been unsheathed for all of us. Aeoria had drawn Grace for me and Darkendrog and even her brother and his Judges of Hell. As I looked upon the shining, white steel I thought I could hear Aeoria’s voice penetrating through my pain and torment. She told me that each day is a new dawn by which to do right or wrong. She said that she knew me and accepted me wholly, and whether I should take the sword’s offer or not, she herself had already forgiven and absolved me.”

Solastron bent his head low. Then he looked up at Etheil, his sapphire eyes wet and heavy. “You see, Hell has no power to hold us. It is by our own hand that we grasp at it. And so it was that I took the sword’s offer.”

Etheil moved in and hugged the great wolf tight. After a long moment Solastron said, “In that moment I was freed of my torment. I know not if any others took the sword’s offer. I suspect that Apollyon refused its light, for he loosed his sphere of fire upon Darkendrog. Aeoria held Grace to her chest and rose herself up to protect the black dragon. When the Hellfire struck the sword it was diminished to nothingness, and the sword broke and crumbled to dust upon the floor. But Aeoria had not been fully spared, and I remember watching her fall upon the cold floor of the cathedral. I am not sure how I know this, but though she lay there weak and in pain, I knew she was happy. Whether it was because I, and perhaps Darkendrog, took the sword’s offer I shall never know, but I knew she was content.

“Apollyon and the Judges had shrank back from Grace’s light, but now seeing the sword of Heaven destroyed and Aeoria laying helpless upon the floor, they were bolstered. Apollyon’s eyes went wild and he commanded his Judges to finish off his sister and he would finish off the black serpent. I got back to my feet and I could feel that Aeoria’s powers were fading. Her strength was waning. I turned and bared my teeth. I would not fail Aeoria again. Even Darkendrog loomed above the fallen Goddess and bared his terrible fangs.”