Dawn of the Dreamsmith (The Raven's Tale Book 1) (45 page)

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“You have to remember, most of this happened before I was born,” Raven explained. “Everything I know about the lost village is pieced together from what I’ve heard from others; the hunters and others who know some of its history. But nobody knows everything, and some parts may be exaggerations, guesses or outright lies.”

She raised an eyebrow at Cole, who nodded to show that he understood. Raven settled herself on the floor and tried to order her thoughts. It wasn’t difficult, as it was a topic that had been much on her mind over the past two days.

“It all began after the northern rebellion,” she told him. “As strange as it sounds, for years after that the land was at peace. The northern lords had no interest in conquest, they only sought to regain what had been lost, and won it back without much difficulty. For his part, the emperor... the last emperor that is... had little stomach for war. The north was far enough away from his capital that, after it was lost, it was easy to simply shrug his shoulders and try to forget that it had ever belonged to the Crown.”

“But the peace didn’t last.”

Raven shook her head. “He died, and his son ascended to the Golden Throne. Maximilien is a different animal to his father in most ways, and he wasted no time in declaring the northern lords traitors and mobilising the Legion for war, with his son at its head. Where peace had reigned before, now the land was in turmoil. The young men of the Empire were conscripted to the army, and farms were stripped of their grain and livestock to feed them. Almost every smith in the south laboured night and day to forge armour and weapons, and the taxes levied to pay for it all were thrice what they had been previously. Many of the common folk resented that the Crown had taken away their livelihoods, stolen their sons away from them to fight a war none wanted. What is the north to the people of the south? Few of them had been there, nor met anyone that had. Many starved in the first winter, with not enough food left over to feed the common folk, no money to buy bread. It was a dark time.”

“So what did they do?”

“Severe punishments were meted out to the few that tried to stand up against what was happening. The Legion prefects in the towns and cities of the south were quick to carry out public floggings, or even executions, to keep the rest in line. Eventually, some decided that enough was enough, that rather than starve they would abandon their homes and townships, and seek a better life elsewhere. But the Empire covered the entire land, to the east, the west and the south. There was only one choice remaining to them.”

Cole nodded. “They came north.”

“Less than a year before the Legion was finally ready to march against the northern lords, a few hundred men, women and children of the Empire made the same journey. They came as refugees and, seeing they were no threat, the people of the north took them in and gave them shelter. But those that had fled their homes dreamed of a place of their own, and sought to found a village that was theirs alone. They searched, but were unable to find a parcel of land that didn’t already belong to another lord. They had had enough of living under such a yoke, having their lives and livelihoods in the hands of nobles that could claim either or both on a whim. But they kept on looking, and eventually they found somewhere that nobody laid claim to. The Spiritwood.”

“Why did nobody warn them about how dangerous it is?”

Raven shrugged. “As the hunters tell it, many did. But the southern folk didn’t listen. Perhaps they believed the stories to be old wives’ tales, stories of ghouls and ghosts that were told to naughty children to make them behave. They went to the Spiritwood and built their village, a place where they could be free. But they were not abandoned. As you know, the men of the Watch feel a great duty towards those that enter this cursed forest, and for many years they kept a watchful eye over this village, Faerloren. The villagers probably didn’t even realise it, but their borders were patrolled regularly. The hunters kept the worst of the Spiritwood’s dangers away from them, for as long as they could.”

“But it didn’t last.”

“It was perhaps foolish of the hunters to think they could protect them forever,” said Raven, staring at her boots.” I have heard different explanations down the years. That they had thought to do it just long enough for the people of Faerloren to realise their peril and abandon their homes a second time. That the villagers found out what they were doing and chased them away. Some say they should not have intervened in the first place, that by sheltering them against most threats it meant they left them completely unprepared to face a greater danger when it appeared. I don’t know who has the right of it.” She sighed. “All anyone knows for sure is that eventually the sentinel failed. One day, when the hunters came to Faerloren, the village had simply vanished.”

“Wait,” Cole interrupted, incredulously. “You mean the houses were empty? That the people were missing? A whole village can’t just disappear. And anyway,” he went on, becoming heated, “
we
found it. We’re there now!”

Raven tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to finish. “Nevertheless,” she continued after his ire faded, “that is precisely what happened. This is one point all the stories I have heard agree upon. One day, the hunters came back, and where the village had stood was just trees. No trace of them remained. No houses, no roads; even the old stone manor house, that had stood for centuries, had disappeared. They say that it was as if the forest had swallowed Faerloren and its people whole. They searched for it, for a long time. The paths through the forest have a way of moving when nobody is looking, the trees shifting to confuse unwary travellers, but the hunters are experienced and know the Spiritwood’s tricks well. After months of looking, eventually they had to give up. Faerloren was gone.”

Cole puffed out his cheeks. “So what happened to them, to this place?”

“Nobody knows. Or rather, nobody outside the Spiritwood. I suspect our host might be able to provide some answers.”

“You called him something upstairs. Rat?”

“
Rakh
,” Raven corrected. “In Whitecliff and Ehrenburg there are harbourside taverns where the sailors of trading vessels gather when they’re in port. You hear a lot of stories about their homelands. I’ve heard those of the east talk about the
Rakh
. They fear them still, although they are more like legends than real creatures you might encounter. The traders of Xanshi describe them as spirits... demons that prowl the deepest, darkest jungles of their land, preying on the unwary. According to their legends, the
rakh
can alter their appearance, but only for a time. Eventually the illusion fades to reveal their true faces.”

“They wield magic?”

“I don’t know,” Raven admitted. “Before, I would have said it was more of an ability, a type of natural camouflage. I’ve heard tell of lizards that can change their colour as easily as you and I breathe. But now, I’m not so sure.” She tapped her foot again on the ground as her mind worked. “If more of his kind wielded this kind of power, we would know about it, I think. He said himself that the green crystals allow him to hold sway over the villagers’ minds. Perhaps they also allow him to grow his own power, to cast an illusion over the entire village just as the rest of his kind disguise their appearance. To hide it from the eyes of others.” She shrugged again. “It is probably as good an explanation as any.”

They sat in silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts. In a sudden flash of anger, Raven slammed her fist into the floor. “Those damn crystals!” she cried. “Do you see now why I reacted the way I did, that night in Bear’s forge? There’s evil in them, I saw that a long time ago. Yet you toy with them, as though roaming around in people’s dreams is a... a game!”

Cole’s cheeks burned hotly. “There’s power in them, I can’t deny it... but evil? Raven, they’re just stones. They’re not alive. Nobody understands what they can do, not fully, but-”

“Exactly!” Raven exclaimed. “That’s the problem, can’t you see that? Nobody understands the power of these crystals, yet your Brotherhood pokes around at them anyway, experimenting. Handing them out like sweets at a village fair! This Baron, whatever he is, has some sort of connection to them, even more powerful than yours. Even that idiotic little gremlin tapped into their energy somehow that day in the fens, and I think he was as shocked by it as you were. All it takes is for something evil, and powerful, and...” All the blood drained from her face as the realisation came to her. “Cole, people all across the Empire wear these stones. Not all, but thousands. Tens of thousands!”

Cole blanched. “You think there are others out there, like the Baron?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t think so.” Raven rubbed her temples. “I think I would have heard if there were others out there like him. The
rakh
have never been seen in the west, I’m surprised even one made it to our land. The Baron has stayed hidden this long because he found the Spiritwood, but thankfully there are few places like this in the Empire, where the darkness holds sway. But there could be other... things, that are even worse.”

Cole looked around their cell. “We probably ought to worry about ourselves for now. If we can get out of here, then we can think about what to do.” He sighed. “If there even
is
anything we can do.”

“There’s always something that can be done.” Raven climbed to her feet and began to pace the stone floor of the cell, examining the walls. “As long as a single candle burns, then the darkness can never prevail. No matter how small the flame, hope remains.”

“I think that’s the most optimistic thing I’ve ever heard you say,” said Cole as he rose to join her.

“I’ve kept my hope alive for twenty years, Cole,” she replied. “Without it I would not have been able to keep going.”

“Hope for what?”

Raven stared at him searchingly, her ice-blue eyes boring into his own. Then the intensity went out of them and she sagged slightly. Plainly she had not found whatever she had been looking for in him. “My father, Cole. Twenty years ago a Brother with bright green eyes came to my village and took him. Took everyone, right from in front of me. I tried to help but there was nothing I could do. All this time, I have been searching for him. The hope I hold on to is that he is still out there, alive.”

The description of the cleric was not lost on Cole. “You think this man was the Archon?” The look in her eyes was enough confirmation. “I’m beginning to understand why you came with me,” he said slowly. “A month ago I would have said that you were mad, to think that the head of the Order should do something like that. But after what happened at the Crag... a man who would do that is capable of anything. But why would he kidnap people from your village?”

“I never found out.” Raven folded her arms and stared at the floor. “One memory of that night always confused me, until now. I saw people from the village, our friends, helping the Brothers. I couldn’t understand how people I had known my entire life could do something so evil.” Her voice wavered, as though she was fighting to keep strong emotions in check. She looked up and met his gaze, a fury in her eyes. “After seeing what the Baron has done to the people of Faerloren, I think I understand it better now.”

Cole was aghast. “You think the Archon is a
rakh
?”

“No,” Raven replied after a brief pause. “At least, I don’t believe so. I think he is just a man, who wields a power not unlike your own. He and the other Brothers at my village were handing out green crystals to those that would come and listen to them preach. Nobody had seen their like before, and after a few weeks it was rarer to see someone not wearing one of the Order’s stones than it was to see one who was.” She smiled ruefully and shook her head. “He even gave one to me, told me to stare deep within it. I don’t know what he expected to happen, but he seemed disappointed when nothing did.”

“What happened to it?”

“I kept it for a time, mostly because I forgot about it. When I eventually found it in the pocket of a dress I had not worn for a long time, I threw it away. After that night, I didn’t want it anywhere near me.”

“Twenty years is a long time, Raven.” As he spoke, Cole’s eyes were fixed upon the floor, unable or unwilling to meet Raven’s gaze.

“He’s still out there,” she replied defiantly. “He’s alive. I know it.”

Cole shifted uncomfortably. Nevertheless, he replied, “I’m sure you’re right.”

“Yes, well, there is nothing we can do while we’re still locked up in the Baron’s dungeon. Or pantry, even.” Raven’s face twisted with distaste. “Fortunately, there is a way I think we can escape before we find out whether he sees us as prisoners or his next meal. I’m not sure if it will work, but... why are you smiling?”

“I have a plan of my own,” Cole replied smugly. “I thought of it as soon as the guards locked the door. Well,” he admitted. “Not quite as quick as that, but as soon as I saw that window.”

Raven glanced doubtfully up at a small grille near the ceiling on one wall. It was less than a shoulder-width across and barely a hand tall. “I doubt our stay here will be long enough for either of us to slim down enough to fit through there, Cole. Even if we could remove the bars.”

Cole grinned. “One of us can, and we won’t even have to so much as bend a single bar.”

Realisation dawned on Raven’s face. “Cole, no...”