After leaving the meeting with his fellow council members, Braulor went directly to his tent and packed a small travel bag with some clothes and provisions of food and water. He would only be gone four days, five at the most. The rest of his belongings he stowed in a large chest at the end of his bed. He locked the chest with a silver key and attached the key to a heavy chain that he wore around his neck, tucking it under his leather armor. His bow and quiver of arrows slung across his shoulders, Braulor strapped his sword to his belt before donning a helm. He looked around the room and was satisfied that his most treasured possessions were locked in his trunk. The blanket he was wrapped in as a baby and a delicate necklace with a purple crystal pendulum on it that belonged to his mother. The rest someone would pack for him. Braulor didn’t worry about his tent; the other clansmen would take it down and move it for him. He hated to leave the work for someone else to do but there was no choice now. He had to meet with Alrei Yqu.
Braulor left his tent and chose a lesser used path that headed in the right direction. He stopped for a moment to chat with the posted guards at the outskirts of camp. They relayed their concern that he would not be present when they broke camp but wished him well and urged him to hurry back. He assured them he would be back as soon as he could and continued along the trail.
Once he was inside the forest, Braulor felt better. A sense of peace stole over him as the energy from the plants and trees resonated with him. As much as he loved the security of the camp, this was where he belonged. There was nothing he liked more than being out in the wild, exploring, surviving, all on his own. He stopped where the path was swallowed by trees and looked back. The day was complete and long shadows from the mountains crept over the camp. A lone figure emerged from the darkness and walked back toward camp. The figure’s gait seemed familiar but in the dusk he couldn’t identify who it was for sure. Probably one of the guards doing rounds Braulor decided as he turned and walked into the trees with nimble strides.
Braulor was headed toward the Lyrwan pass. If he had left in the morning and really pushed himself he could probably make it to the pass in a day but he was in no real hurry as dusk was settling in and full darkness wasn’t far off. Braulor wanted to make it to somewhere he could establish camp for the night. It didn't matter when he got there anyway, Alrei Yqu wouldn't arrive until the next evening. Braulor had decided to take a less direct route and enjoy some of the sights along the way. He had been cooped up in camp for far too long and he wanted to enjoy this trip as much as he could. He followed the winding path at a decent pace until he came to a fork. One way would lead him toward Brankin Huoh and the Citadel. The other was where he wanted to go, toward Lyrwan pass.
Braulor continued his trek until darkness had settled, then laid out his bedroll in a nice dry area under the boughs of a cluster of tall evergreen trees. He made a small fire and enjoyed a meal of dried meat and fruit. He drank his fill of water without concern as there was a small creek nearby where he could refill his canteen. Then lay back on his bedroll and stared up at the stars and the bright waxing moon that dominated the view. His eyes grew heavier and heavier.
Braulor awoke with start, the snap of a branch penetrating his doze. His fire had burnt itself out, but the wisp of grey smoke issuing from it indicated that it hadn't been out for long. The moon was low on the western horizon, its bright light casting an eerie glow on the small clearing. Another snap of a twig not far off and Braulor slowed his breathing, straining his ears, reaching out with every sense to ascertain who or what was approaching while one hand drifted to the hilt of his sword that lay beside him.
It was not an animal. An animal would be far less concerned with the noise it made and by the way the forest went still and quiet after the last twig broke, it seemed more likely someone was trying to sneak up on him. But who would be way out here?
A rustle of branches nearby and Braulor rolled from under his sheet and stepped behind the nearest tree and peered toward the source of the noise. From here he would have a clear view of whatever was out there if they came into the clearing. He gripped his sword, eyes straining, ears straining. Another crack. Braulor was having trouble focussing his senses. Whoever it was was closing in on his location. Braulor tensed, ready to attack.
A lone figure emerged from the darkness across the clearing and stopped, draped in shadow. The figure looked around, sweeping the area in a slow arc, taking in the details. Braulor noted that he didn't seem to have a weapon drawn.
The figure started moving again, straight toward Braulor’s makeshift fire pit, and crouched down near Braulor's bedroll.
"Braulor," the figure called out, a hair above a whisper. Braulor eased the grip on his sword. He recognized that voice.
"Braulor," the man called again, this time a bit louder, as his head swung side to side searching the darkness beyond the clearing.
"Tyran, is that you?" Braulor asked, though he was certain it was.
"Yes, it is I."
Braulor stepped from behind the tree, his arm shaking as he lowered his sword. “You scared the wits out of me Tyran. What are you doing out here?" Braulor clapped Tyran on the shoulder, not bothering to hide the delight of seeing him.
"It's Jolon. He is up to something just as I feared.”
"Sit down, sit down." Braulor indicated a spot near his bed roll and then piled some of the kindling he had chopped earlier into the fire pit. As Tyran laid out his own bedroll, Braulor got down on his knees and blew gently on the embers. They flared like tiny sunbursts with each gentle puff and then flames sprang up and crackled and snapped, happy to resume consuming the wood. Braulor sat down on his bedroll. "So what happened that was urgent enough to make you track me down all the way out here?"
Tyran took his canteen out as he started talking. "With so much going on in preparation to move camp I couldn't sleep, my mind was too busy. I decided to take a walk around camp, you know, think about things. I thought a little exercise would help me relax so I could fall asleep." He paused and took a long sip of water before continuing. "I stopped walking and was taking in the night sky when Jolon left his tent. He went straight out of camp, in pretty much the opposite direction you had gone."
"And he didn't see you?"
"I don't think so. He looked around a little but by then I was pressed tight behind one of the supply tents."
"What did the guards do?" Braulor tried to remember which guards were posted on the other side of the camp.
"Jolon talked to them for a bit and then continued on his way."
"Did you talk to them?"
"Yes. I asked them where Jolon was going. They said Jolon didn't tell them and because he was a councillor they didn't feel the need to ask."
"Hmmm. That’s odd." Braulor thought for a moment. "Maybe Jolon couldn’t sleep either and wanted to stretch his legs." But as soon as he suggested it, Braulor knew it couldn’t be true. It was unlike Jolon to leave the safety of camp without an escort, especially after nightfall.
“Possibly, but the guards were very evasive. I think they knew more than they let on."
"I agree. It is suspicious. They didn't do their job very well if they didn't know where he was going. What direction did you say he went?"
"Up into the hills, on the west side of camp. I waited for some time and he didn't return. I don't know how to explain it but I got a bad feeling about the whole thing. That's when I decided to come and find you."
Braulor and Tyran sat for a while in silence and watched the fire, each of them lost in his own thoughts. Although he didn’t let on to Tyran, it disturbed Braulor that Jolon had left camp in such a secretive manner. He couldn't think of any reason Jolon would have for leaving camp and agreed with Tyran’s assessment. As much as Braulor wanted to turn straight back and get to the bottom of this, he had to get to this meeting with Alrei Yqu first. Then he could go back and deal with Jolon. The bigger question at the moment was what to do with Tyran. Braulor had always met with Alrei Yqu alone. He didn't know how th
e other man would react if Tyran was with him. He didn't know how Tyran would react to Alrei Yqu either. Alrei Yqu could be quite abrasive at times. "We should get some rest while we can," Braulor finally said. "We can figure out what to do in the morning." As he rolled into his blanket, Braulor could hear Tyran doing the same. In light of all this news, sleep wasn't easy to come. Braulor lay awake for a long time watching the fire burn itself out, trying to put a finger on what Jolon was up to.
When Braulor awoke it was still dark but dawn wasn't far off. The first shafts of light were reaching over the mountain, painting the sky a magnificent tangerine hue. Tyran was already awake, putting his bedroll into his pack. "Ready to go I see." Braulor climbed out from his own blankets. He stood and stretched, yawned, and then he began to roll up his bed.
"I'm ready. If we leave now we can be back at camp by midday," Tyran said without looking up.
Braulor sighed. He wasn't going back yet but he didn't want Tyran to go back by himself and have some sort of confrontation with Jolon when he wasn't there to protect him. "Tyran, I can't go back yet."
Tyran stopped his packing and his head whipped up to look at Braulor. "But what about Jolon? You agree that he is up to something."
"I do agree. But whatever Jolon has planned, it's against me and it won't happen until I return."
“I came all this way for you," Tyran’s voice was quivering with anger and disappointment. Loyalty was above everything else for Tyran; loyalty to Braulor, loyalty to the clan and every clansman in it. It was the way he was. He put everybody and everything before his own needs so it was hard for him to understand why Braulor wouldn’t go back immediately to deal with Jolon. He would have done so.
"Tyran, I need to meet with Alrei Yqu. He knows many things and this could be why he wants to meet, to warn me about Jolon." Braulor wasn’t sure if he believed it himself, but he needed to tell Tyran something to placate him.
After a long pause Tyran shook his head. "I suppose you’re right but I don't like the idea of Jolon back there sabotaging things when you're out here. How will I contain myself?"
"You don't have to. I want you to come with me to the meeting."
Tyran was stunned into silence. Although Braulor had told him about Alrei-Yqu, he knew very little of the actual proceedings and he always wondered what happened at them. "Are you sure you're allowed to bring another person? You've always gone alone."
"He's never told me to not bring someone. I think as long as you hang back a little, out of sight, it won't be a problem."
Tyran was confused. His loyalties to Braulor and to the Greejon Clan were being pulled in different directions. He sat there perplexed over the choice while Braulor stared at him.
"Once the meeting is over we can double-time it back to camp. We’ll be back before Jolon can do anything."
"Okay," Tyran agreed, not sounding entirely confident in his choice., "We should get moving then."
"Now you're talking." Braulor clapped Tyran on the shoulder.
After a hasty meal and a refill of their canteens, they set out. They went at a fair pace but Braulor was careful not to go too fast. They needed to conserve energy for the return trip. At any rate, Alrei Yqu wouldn't show up until the following evening so he wasn’t in any real rush. They talked off and on about camp and what Jolon might be attempting to do. They also walked for periods of time in silence, each of them in his own thoughts. Braulor was focused on the meeting with Alrei Yqu. Alrei Yqu always had good information for him but Braulor liked to be careful not to reveal much. This took a lot of mental preparation. Alrei Yqu could talk in circles, probe you with many questions. He would attack the same issue from many directions until you weren't even certain what question you were answering. Or he would ask many small questions, each seemingly independent from the other, but if you put all the answers together it would form the big picture he was seeking. At times it seemed like Alrei Yqu could see right into Braulor’s mind, which was a terrifying thought. Braulor didn't know how much to tell Tyran. He felt he should warn him but didn't want to scare him either. It was just something Tyran would have to deal with when it came up Braulor supposed.
It was late afternoon when Braulor and Tyran stopped at the apex of Lyrwan Pass. They had walked all day, stopping only briefly at the foot of the mountains where they had a short rest and a quick meal augmented with berries they found growing wild. The path up to the pass had been harder to traverse than Braulor remembered. It didn't get much use and was overgrown in some spots, washed out in others. The going had been slow but now here they were. They set up camp, lit a fire and stretched out on their bedrolls.
It was beautiful up high in the pass. With all the subjects of conversation exhausted during the day’s walk, Braulor and Tyran lay on their beds and enjoyed the silence. Birds flitted from tree to tree. The sky was a deep, hypnotic blue. Sleep crept slowly over each of them. They fought it at first with long yawns but it was too much; both of them succumbed to the urge.
Tyran awoke first, his eyes sliding open. He sat up slowly and looked around. He was disoriented and confused. When he had fallen asleep it was still light out. Now dusk was setting in. The sun was gone from the sky, the last rays of light illuminating the western edge of the mountains. Long fingers of shadow stole across the mountains and canyons, grabbing as much real estate as they could.
Braulor snorted in his sleep. It was probably that sound that had woken him. Tyran leaned back and nudged Braulor with his foot. Braulor turned onto his side and continued snoring. Tyran reached for his pack and retrieved his cloak. Wrapping it around his shoulders he delivered another, stronger nudge, to Braulor's backside.
Braulor rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. "What was that for?"
"You were snoring like a bear."
"So what?" Braulor sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"It's getting dark out. Didn't you notice?"
Braulor stopped rubbing his eyes and looked around. "So it is.”
"What about your meeting?"
"Alrei Yqu won't arrive until tomorrow."
“Why? You're here now."
"I don't know why. It's the way it’s always been. We should get the fire going again."
Braulor got up and loaded more wood into the fire pit. He tried to get the fire going by blowing on the embers but they were too cold and didn't respond to his attempts. He retrieved his tinder box from his pack and crouched near the wood, loading a fair amount of wood shavings into the pit. He struck the flint to the fire steel. Sparks jumped into the fire pit and exploded into a giant flare of green fire. Braulor and Tyran were thrown back by the force. Shielding their eyes they both stared as the flame slowly died down to a nice crackling fire.
"You have come," a low, whispery voice said.
Braulor looked at Tyran.
Tyran had clambered to his feet and was approaching the fire with caution. If he heard the voice he didn't show it.
"Who is the outsider?" the voice asked.
Everything was wrong. It sounded like Alrei Yqu but Braulor wasn't hearing him with his ears. It was more like the voice was manifested right in his head. It felt strange, as if Alrei Yqu was inside of his body, asking questions from within.
"That is Tyran. He is from my clan," Braulor said out loud making Tyran jump.
"Who are you talking to?" Tyran’s head swiveled side to side.
Braulor waved his hands and shook his head indicating to Tyran to be quiet.
"Never before has someone joined us. Why now I wonder."
"Tyran followed me from camp to warn me about…"
"Ah yes. Jolon,” Alrei Yqu interrupted. “You needn't be concerned with him for now."
Braulor was mildly surprised that Alrei Yqu knew about Jolon but at the same time he wasn't surprised at all. Alrei Yqu had proven time and time again that he had a fore knowledge of things to come. How he knew, Braulor couldn't say. He had been the beneficiary of that knowledge on several occasions so he chose not to question the
why.
Braulor scanned the bush at the edge of the clearing but couldn't see anything. "You arrived early, Alrei Yqu. I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow's eve."
Tyran stood still, looking from Braulor to the trees and back. He couldn't hear anything and wondered if Braulor was making it all up as some kind of prank to scare him.
"We have an important matter to discuss." Without another word Alrei Yqu emerged from the tree line.
Braulor gasped.
Tyran reached for his sword but stopped midway, his hand suspended in midair as if frozen in place. He struggled but couldn't move his arm no matter how hard he tried.
"Braulor, what’s going on?" Tyran backed away from Alrei Yqu as if he were a rabid dog, his heart pounding so hard he thought it was going to break his ribs.
Braulor sat with his mouth open. He had never seen Alrei Yqu clearly before and had pictured him as a wizened, older man, bent a little with age but vigorous and spry. Alrei Yqu was tall, a full head and half taller than Braulor, who was not short by any measure. Muscular and powerful, he strode to Braulor and Tyran and stopped, looking at each of them in turn. His sharp eyes revealed nothing. He was like a predator sizing up prey. With a wave of his hand Tyran was released from his unseen bonds and retrieved his sword.
"You won't need that, Tyran. I am not here to cause you harm. If that were my wish I would have done so already." Alrei Yqu’s voice was commanding and soothing all at once and Tyran’s stance softened as he lowered his guard.
"Let's sit, shall we." Alrei Yqu sat on the ground on the other side of the fire, legs crossed, hands resting neatly in his lap.
Reluctantly Tyran sat down but not too far from his pack and his sword.
"This night is full of surprises." Braulor was still taking in Alrei Yqu's sudden dramatic appearance. "Why do you reveal yourself to me now after all of our meetings?"
"If a man is lucky he gets to live in changing times," Alrei Yqu said taking on a thoughtful tone. "If one is really lucky he gets to be a part of that change."
"Cryptic. As usual," Braulor remarked
"Let me explain further then," Alrei Yqu said. Then he sat for a moment, staring alternately at each of them, gathering his thoughts. "You know of the city, Brankin Huoh?"
"Yes."
"Then you would also know that every year they conduct the induction ceremony, where they draft boys with questionable morals and train them to be part of the Citadel’s official guard.”
“We’ve encountered some of the graduates of the Citadel’s program,” Tyran interjected.
Alrei Yqu admonished the interruption with a stern stare before continuing. “The truly evil among the inductees are promoted straight to the private guard. Once there, their dark sides are nurtured and trained so they can be set loose to maintain tight control over the rest of the citizens."
Braulor certainly knew of the inductions. He set his jaw, remembering men lost at the hands of those trained in the Citadel. "How does that affect us? We keep well out of the city’s way."
"There is one among them that will be inducted under false pretense. He is not evil, nor dangerous. They see it otherwise, I would suppose."
"So why are they inducting him?"
"Because a prophecy will be revealed to him that will shake all of this land; a prophecy that he is to have a hand in bringing about."
Braulor was somewhat taken aback. They had never touched on such esoteric subjects in their previous meetings. "How do you know all this?"
Alrei Yqu didn’t elaborate.
"But what does this have to do with me? I can't go into the city and I wouldn't want to even if I could."
"He is being inducted only as a means to shut him up, too keep him away from the people. If the Citadel has him under lock and key, they can keep everyone but themselves from knowing the true prophecy and can control its outcome to their advantage."
Braulor didn't know what to say. It all sounded ludicrous. Prophecy was the stuff of legend. It was folklore, woven into stories they told children. Prophecy wasn't real. Even considering Alrei Yqu's uncanny knowledge of events to happen, a prophecy that could alter the future seemed a bit grand. And how would he go about getting into the city? He was sure that he was high on any list of people to capture and put to death. He had had many run-ins with the law of the city before the clan was formed and the city was the last place he wanted to be.
"Why not intercept the boy before the induction?" This seemed a more sensible approach to Braulor. Get to him before the Citadel does.
"That would set off a large manhunt and we would have nowhere to run with him, nowhere to hide. They would turn out every barn, every farm, every house looking for him and they would put to death anybody who got in their way."
"Wouldn't breaking this person out of the Citadel cause a manhunt as well? I mean, if this prophecy is that important, they won't give up on it easily."
"You’re right, Braulor. They won't give up on it that easy. You will have to get him out from under their noses."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Braulor asked, more to himself than anyone else.
"That I do not know. But I do know the prophecy will change this world for everybody in it.” Alrei Yqu set his jaw and eyed them both sternly, as if he was about to deliver the worst news possible. “The world as you know it is changing right before your eyes and the prophecy can lead humans in the right direction. Without it, humans will continue to grow weaker, forever stalled in a purgatorial existence, doing the bidding of whoever happens to be the Citadel’s leader. Do you value your freedom? Are you not tired of always being on the move, always on edge? Every twig you hear break makes you wonder if some bounty hunter or mercenary is going to turn you in to the authorities or kill you for what you have in your pocket."
Braulor saw his point. His life was a prime example of what Alrei Yqu just spoke of. "What is this prophecy about? Do you know?"
"I only know that the prophecy has to do with the Amber Eye."
The naming of the Amber Eye caused even Tyran's jaw to drop. "Are you certain of this?" he asked, once more forgetting Braulor’s advice to remain silent.
"One can never be certain as information like this is tenuous and changing but it is the one thing that the people of this land would rally around. Go to war for. Would give their lives to obtain." Alrei Yqu trailed off into his own thoughts.
The Amber Eye was all those things and more according to legend. It was many moons in the past when the Amber Eye was lost. Stolen, some would say. The stone itself was a perfect replica of a human eye cut from a single piece of flawless amber. Who made it and how was information also lost to the ages but the legend lived on. Grave robbers and treasure seekers have been searching for the Amber Eye as long as there has been recorded history. In all likelihood, even longer. Legend claimed that the holder of the eye would gain potent magic power, power that would let them invoke whatever they saw fit into this world. The weak would use it to make themselves wealthy but for those who craved power, they could use the power of the Amber Eye to build and shape the world into an image of their choosing. And that would explain why the Citadel was going to such great lengths to curtail word of it getting out. But a power like that of the Amber Eye always had a duality. Where the Amber Eye had the power to create and enhance a world of unmatched beauty and synchronicity, that same power in the wrong hands would lead to a world of devastation and ruin. The Amber Eye was said to bestow on its bearer only power. Not good or bad, only neutral power that would amplify what it is given to work with. If evil intent was used with it, the power the eye brought forth would be of unimaginable horror.
Braulor understood the urgency of this meeting now. Understood why Alrei Yqu had broken a protocol he had adhered to for many meetings and arrived early to tell him what he knew. Why he had revealed himself to Braulor for the first time ever. The possibility of the Amber Eye’s reappearance and knowing what could happen if it were to come into the possession of the Citade
l and its rulers pushed everything else aside.
"I can see the importance of getting this kid out of the clutches of the Citadel, but why me? There must be someone better suited for this task," Braulor said. Possibly an army.
"There is a reason I chose to seek you for this quest." Alrei Yqu’s tone became ominous.
Braulor looked Alrei Yqu square in the eye, bracing himself. It felt like he was frozen in time, waiting for the blow.
"Tagan is your brother."
Chapter 6