Chapter VI:
The Hidden People
Solsis
My people live in the land of Solsis, which lies far to the south of Falsis. Falruvis built his impenetrable fortress in the north of Weldera, in a region in which many mortal kindreds already dwelt. But Solruvis, his brother, built his indiscoverable refuge in the misty valleys of the southern land. Solsis, to us, is as any other land. But to those who dwell without, the southern kingdom of the Argent elves is shrouded in myth and legend.
It is an unusual land at the very least. The great Deragi mountains in the south send torrents of water through the whole country, culminating in the mighty Fulani River, which is known in the northern kingdom simply as the Solsi River, as if to compare it to the Falsi in the north. But the Fulani at its widest is like an ocean in movement, tearing through the valleys of our land like a raging beast, continually breaking down and reshaping the central area of Solsis. The entire land of Solsis is locked in by mountains. In the north there are the Falsigi Mountains, which the northerners call the Solsist Mountains, evidencing the ancient kinship of these two lands. In the west the land is guarded by the Cuergi, which are really only the southern leg of the Coronan or Daunrys mountains. Sweeping from the northeast down to the south, connecting at last with the Deragi Mountain range is the Kolgi Range, which, though smaller than the others, offers complete protection from the sea. There are no mariners in Solsis, save for those who dare to ride the treacherous flow of the Fulani.
Solruvis perhaps saw the future more clearly than his brother in the north, seeing the hope of the elves in secrecy rather than in open might. Where Falruvis raised up the mighty walls of Dadron, Solruvis found for himself even greater walls, the impenetrable mountains of Coergi, Deragi, Falsigi and Kolgi. Each of these mountain ranges were thought of as the work of their respective gods and goddesses, the north and south a pair, the latter feminine and the former masculine, and the east and west likewise, the former being the god and the latter the goddess. Such was the mythology the elves devised for the sake of the wild men who lived in the valleys and hills of southern Weldera. Even in this quiet and mysterious land the elves found it necessary to dazzle their vassals with fabulous tales of the gods and goddesses, the sun and moon, the stars and the rocks and trees themselves.
My people have lived in the hidden valleys of Solsis from time immemorial. Our antiquity and our asceticism have long held our little society together, serving as a buffer against the conventions of the Omnion, as we call the rest of the men and elves of this world. Whatever has come to pass in all these long years, the consistency of our traditions has kept us for the most part unaltered.
The chief cities and dwellings of the elves were always in the north, on the western side of Fulani, where they could more easily commerce with their northern kin. In the height of their power, however, they had many farms, mines and villages in the east as well. These are all emptied now or occupied by half-elves or mortal men. The elves themselves have all but vanished. They have not perished; as I said before, they found in this great land a place where they might hide when the world turned dark. When the hatred of Czylost bound together the great kingdoms of men and set fire to the cities of the elves, Solran, the grandson of Solruvis, and many others of his people simply vanished into the mountains. Those who would not forsake their brethren marched over the perilous mountains and came to Dadron, there hoping to rescue their kinsmen from the conflagration that had already destroyed the city of Dalta in the east. I refer here to the aforementioned Race Wars, when Marin marched with Czylost of Lapulia against the elven world, utterly exterminating them in the east, and decimating them in the west. There in Dadron, it is said, Solruvis and his sons met their dooms, though none who marched in that army ever returned to Solsis to tell such a tale.
The elves who remained behind took refuge in the hidden places that Solruvis had prepared for that very hour. There they remain to this day, though there are some who believe that they too have perished from the earth. There are a few daring men in recent years who have suggested that they never really existed in the first place. But most commonly it is thought that they were all slain by goblins. There are, after all, a great number of these wild men still living in the mountainous areas of Solsis, particularly here in the north, where the cooler air is easier on their thick skins. The elves and goblins were ever at war in Solsis, at least, as far as the elves were concerned. I doubt very much that the goblins have so much as a notion of war. They fight, they kill, they steal, but they do not wage war, which is simply the structuring of these things according to a rational principle.
Though we have for so many ages lived in the shadow of these mountains, and within twenty leagues of one of the greatest goblin settlements, we have had very little trouble with them. We leave them to their hunting grounds and when their prey is depleted, or when their food for whatever reason grows scarce, we send what excess we have to them. We understand that the wars and quarrels with these creatures are more often born of hunger than of hate. Our kindnesses have, in a sense, tamed the brutes; something which, as far as I know, no other people has accomplished. We keep among us none of those useless stones and metals that men generally consider to be precious. We use no gold, and our tools are mostly of stone and wood or of common metals like iron or copper. The goblins, much like human beings, are drawn to beautiful things like flies to honey. We therefore keep our women modest, our treasures practical and our excess liberal.
Some of our neighbors insist that they oughtn't be forced to cover their women for the sake of monsters, and that they oughtn't be forced to use stone tools and wooden dishes because the goblins are thieves. They also believe that their excess belongs to them by right and they oughtn't be forced to part with it for hungry devils who have not the sense to till their own land for it. Therefore, our neighbors have war with these creatures without cease. Many of the nobler goblins, if I may be permitted to use such terms, have been exterminated by the Omnion. In turn, many of the Omnion have been slain and driven from these mountains entirely by the viler breeds. The careless manner in which the Omnion waged war against these creatures had this effect only; that the hardiest and strongest goblins survived, in turn producing hardier and ever stronger offspring. The result of all this is that some of the most powerful Hobgoblins in all the world now rule and reign in the emptied human cities that are scattered across the foothills of the Falsigi Mountains.
But they trouble us not. Indeed, we now find ourselves surrounded on all sides by the most hardy sentinels; Hobgoblins that know that they can count upon us to see to their needs in desperate hours, and who see nothing in our humble society worth plundering.
This land of ours is called by the Omnion, 'Brud-den', which, of course, simply means Kingdom of the Goblins. We, however, call our little encampment Thed-den, which signifies the Kingdom of the Eternal One. I say 'encampment' because our cities are little more than that to us. They are built upon foundations of stone with strong wood, fastened with tar and with nails, but they house only our flesh; our souls we expect will find a home someday perhaps among the stars or else wherever the Eternal sees fit to place us. But all of this is yet clouded in mystery, even to us.
Our little society, we believe, will be preserved until the world's ending. But that doesn't mean that each individual will. Death reigns over us even as it reigns over all other mortal men. Folly also has his part to play among us, for not every man of Thed-dun has always kept our laws.
Some have gone away alone to mingle their destinies with the Omnion, leaving behind their heritage altogether. Others have led away multitudes of our young people to go and fight for land and possessions in the outside world. Some of the greatest and cruelest lords of Solsis have been, it must be confessed, from our own race. We readily acknowledge the kinship of blood with such men, but we must disavow all kinship of spirit, for it is not permitted for us to march to war. By partaking in the world of the Omnion they become Omnion, and i
n so becoming they cease to be Nihlion, which is the name we give to those who maintain the traditions of our ancestors.
Such a sundering is more grevious to us than death, for it has long been believed among us that the great hope of Tel Arie is preserved within our traditions. We give great consideration not only to the lives that we live, but to matters hidden from men's eyes. In other words: the grave and what lies, if anything lies, beyond it.
My Journey
My own journey began on the second day of Frohest when we buried the elder of our village, Radathed, who had for nearly sixty years been our guide and teacher. When I was a child, my friend Ghenu and I were sent to this man to be taught the ways and laws of the Nihlion. There we sat long at the feet of this wise man, taking in every word and every turn of expression. When our lessons had finished we would often walk along the wooded lanes of our country and talk of the things which we had been taught. But a shadow passed between us, the source of which I have never fully comprehended. I learned, even as I yet grieved for the death of our elder, that my friend Ghenu had departed from our village, leaving behind the name Nihlion and, in fact, cursing the name of the Eternal, whom we are all taught to hold in reverence.
Greatly troubled and surprised by this I resolved to discover the cause of his departure and to see if I might not persuade him to return to our village, wherein we believe the destiny of the whole world to lay hidden.
There is a large plain just south of our village where we bury our dead. It is a rather beautiful place; the sort of place wherein we felt a soul would be content to spend its twilight. There were at least a thousand different wildflowers that bloom in the fields, making the landscape look bright and alive in every season except winter. It was watered by some small streams that flowed down from the Solsis Mountains, in the arms of which our village was nestled.
The children in our village had many legends about this somber plain. They would exchange songs and stories about spirits of the dead walking the grassy fields by moonlight and about the angry spirits of children who had perished at too young an age. In my youth, I too told my fair share of tales about the Spirit-Field, some of these were so untrue that I am almost ashamed of myself. But it is the prerogative of children to dance across the line that divides reality and imagination - and perhaps they are more wise in so doing than their unhappy guardians.
I only visited this field twice during my youth. Once to bury our family's patriarch, Koshathed, who had long guided and guarded us. The other visit was many years later when a young child in our village died from an unknown illness. I still remember the way the graves were laid out one next to the other; fathers next to sons, mothers next to husbands. As far as the eye could see there were stone markers set in rows according to each family's peculiar traditions. We could trace the history of our own family by following the graves south toward the River Setnan.
On my first visit I tried to follow my cousins to the southernmost edge of the field, just before the ground began to slope down toward the riverbed. But my small feet were too slow and I was forced to remain behind with my sisters while my cousins went on to discover our family's ancient heritage without me.
My second visit to the Spirit-Field was a bit different. I was much older, so I was able to participate in the solemn ceremonies of the dead. When these were finished I decided to make the journey to the field's end and see the beginnings of my family's story.
It took several hours on foot to reach the place where my first ancestors were laid to rest. Since it was sacred ground, no horse or cart was permitted to trample the grass. There was a large boulder at the edge of the field and a surprisingly steep ledge behind it, beyond which was the rushing waters of the Setnan, gorged with the waters of many mountain streams. This was the beginning of the land of the Omnion and the end of our territory. Just north of this boulder was a much smaller stone that bore some faint sign of having at one time been carved by human hands. On this stone was written the name, 'Yann'.
The letters themselves had been carved sometime in the last hundred years to replace the more ancient characters that had long since eroded and vanished. It occurred to me that it might very well be my own son, or perhaps my grandson, who will one day carve this ancient name once again on this weather-worn monument when time has again had its way.
I walked the ancient path of my family and saw each link in the ongoing chain of life and death. Each son was laid to rest several yards to the north of his father with their wives at their sides. But as I gazed at this ancient stone I could not help but think about that river behind it and the southern lands beyond the mountain from which he had journeyed. Yann was a man, and he too had a father. The chain of life that connects me to him does not simply stop at him because he is our first ancestor with a name. It is a chain that extends to the very foundations of mankind.
With such a legacy behind me I was firmly convinced that when I reached adulthood I would live off the fat of the land as my fathers had before me. I would take a wife and raise a family in the peace and harmony that our village had enjoyed for so many ages. The causes that had brought me to live in this country were stretched out for miles across the Spirit-Field, buried under earth and stone. But into this chain from time to time appears, as if from nowhere, a new cause, altering the future in such a way that no amount of prudence could foresee it. My companion's departure was the beginning of that course of events that led me away from my home and into the chaos of the northern world.
From our most ancient days it had been common for rash young men to depart from us, finding our ways to be quaint or uncomfortable. Some went out to seek their own fates in the lands of the Omnion. A few of these returned, but most of them vanished from our knowledge forever. But that my dear friend would so depart, and depart in such haste, I could not have predicted, not were I one of the Star-Seers, whom the men of Lapulia believe to be infallible.
I came at last upon my dear friend, when I had crossed the Setnan River, having now gone further from my home than ever I had before traveled. 'Ghenu!' I called to him as I drew near to him.
'Do not waylay me, friend,' he said without turning. 'You have come far, but I must go farther, and I have no desire to turn back.'
'Farther you have gone, you say?' I said as I hurried along the road, hoping to come up alongside him. 'Farther from what? You have indeed come farther from Stelna than you have hitherto, but whether you are closer to your destination than I, is more than either of us can say. Except that I have at last come to mine, for I have left our village behind to come to your side.' At that moment I finally overtook him and such was my haste that I passed him along the path he tread.
Quickening his pace he replied with a laugh, 'Then my goal must be loftier than yours.'
'Where will you go?' I asked when we were at last walking in step.
'Who knows?' he said quietly, 'Perhaps I will go only to die in the wild.'
'Then why go at all? I cannot imagine you would leave behind all you have known for nothing.'
To this my friend said nothing.
'To die in the wild? But what of your spirit, which the ancient ones say ascends to the judgment of the Eternal at the moment of death?'
'I do not fear death, for it is nothing to me.'
'Then it is true. You have indeed forsaken the ways of the Nihlion.'
'I do not know what ways I follow these days.'
'What is it, then, my friend, that I have not seen that you have. For the ways of the Nihlion are hard, and our hope lies beyond the shadow of the grave where no man can see or comprehend. If you have found a better way, then I would have you tell me.'
'I have no better way,' he answered.
'Then you must have discovered some truth, some ancient fact or secret that reveals our great hope to be a sad and vain fantasy. Tell me, my friend, what it is that you have found. For I am a man of little virtue according to the laws of our people, and it would lighten my load to know that the ways of the Eter
nal One are false.'
'I have not,' he answered quietly, 'But nonetheless I have found it impossible to believe the old stories.'
I stopped walking for a moment and thought on his words. He stopped as well, surprised by my sudden halting. 'It is said among our wise men that no change can take place without some cause attending it. Is that not so?'
'It is so,' he answered.
'It was once the case that you believed the old stories. This I know because on a great many occasions you elected to speak of their truth yourself. How then came you to walk away from the ways of the Nihlion if there is indeed, as you say, nothing that made you alter your opinions? You once said the old tales were true, which certainly, having been raised from a babe with them in your ears, it may be said that you believed them without reason, even as many children believe whatever it is that their parents see fit to teach them. But now you say that you believe not in the old stories. If you have no reason for this change of mind, then you are no better off than you were in your infancy, when you accepted the tales blindly in the first place. I apprehend, therefore, that there is some cause of which you will not here speak, not even to one who is your old friend. Ghenu, what made you disbelieve the old stories and doctrines of our elders?'
'There is nothing,' he insisted.
Undaunted I pressed him further, saying, 'You would abandon me to a life of servitude and humiliation then, though you could, by lending me a few wise words, lift me from the mire of our predecessors. You know as well as I that so long as I am bound by the ways of the Nihlion I must make payment to the elders, one fifth part of every crop. Moreover, I have already received that marring of the flesh, the mark of the Eternal, upon my left shoulder. In due time it will be placed upon my right as well. My children also, who you might free with your knowledge, will likewise be bound to carry out each of these rituals and fulfill all the laws of our people. If I needn't take knife and ink to my son's slender shoulder, then I would have you speak!'
Ghenu then sighed and said frustratedly, 'Do you not see how the world is filled with evil? If there be any Eternal power at the root of this world, then it is he that must sit at the last judgment! Do you not see the death of innocents, of the Omnion and Nihlion alike? Do you not see that the cruel win for themselves lands, honor and wealth, while the good die in shame, diseased and empty. What power conceived this? Is it not he whom the songs call 'good'?'
'Are those not the very doctrines of our people that you speak?' I said in disbelief. 'Is it not taught by our elders that this world is full of evil? Is it not from our own traditions that you have learned this?'
To this he said, 'I need not such teachings to see that the world is full of evil.'
'But what of Theodysus?' I asked with much emotion in my voice.
'Too ancient is that name,' he responded, much to my horror and surprise. 'Too old are the stories, and I see not why they should have any hold upon us in an age so far removed.' He sighed and put his hand upon my shoulder with a look of pity in his eyes. 'My friend,' he said to me, 'I must go my own way and you must go yours, wherever your will takes you. But I will not go back to Stelna.'
With those words he turned and walked away from me, leaving behind all paths and roads, passing from my sight and from my knowledge. A lump of sorrow seemed to swell within my throat at that moment, a sorrow that has not hence departed from me, though many joys and many sorrows have since come upon me. I fell to the earth in tears, for to the Nihlion such partings represent a severance beyond the grave and beyond remedy.
The Beginning
Leaving the ancient road I once more turned my sad face toward Stelna. When once more I came to walk among the dead, I was met by an elderly man named Jaffathed. It was upon him that the leadership of our village was expected to fall. I was greatly surprised to see him approaching me, for it is not customary for the elder to approach a young man such as myself. Only at great need would they be seen traveling about. The elder greeted me with a warm embrace, saying, 'My son, I have come to you to bid you and your comrade farewell.'
'My comrade,' I said, surprised, 'Do you mean Ghenu?'
'Indeed, for you are both beloved of the Nihlion. I would not have you depart without a blessing.'
'Ghenu is no longer Nihlion,' I said downcast.
'Nonetheless, I would still give him a blessing.'
'I don't understand,' I said, 'why would you bless he who curses our people and abandons our ways without cause. Is it not said that all the wicked shall be cursed?'
'Indeed it is, and so they shall be,' he answered with a smile. 'But there are two ways in which a man can be good. One can be good in spirit and good in flesh; it is the latter that I wish upon him, if only for the sake of the former.'
Jaffathed took me by the arm and brought me to one of the stones which mark the graves of our sires. Here he sat and beckoned me to do likewise. 'It is not permitted,' I said, 'to sit upon the stones of the dead.'
'Would you accuse me, your elder?' he said with a lighthearted laugh. 'That custom is maintained for the sake of honor, which the dead need not. We do not defile them by making use of the stones for which they care nothing. 'Come, have a seat with an old man.'
I sat down, still very confused. I told him about how I chased after Ghenu, and how he had answered my queries.
'What do you see, my son? he asked me when I had finished speaking.
'What do I see? What do you mean?' I asked.
'Tell me what you see?'
'I see,' here I paused to take a look around, 'I see the graves of our forefathers, and I see the sky and the mountains.'
'You see the sky?' he said with great alarm.
'Why should that seem so strange?'
'Look again, my son, and tell me what you truly see.' He lifted his finger and pointed at one of the stone markers. 'What is that?' he asked.
'It is a grave marker.'
'And at the base of that marker is what?'
'A flower; the one they call galanas.'
You see a flower, then?'
'Yes.'
'But can it be a flower if it were made of stone?'
'No, it cannot,' I answered.
'Then it is not by sight alone that the flower is beheld. But how can the softness of the object be known to you?'
'By touch; a stone would prove itself to be hard to the fingers.'
'But what is it, then, that you see?' he asked again.
'I see a certain shape,'
'A shape of color?' he asked.
'Yes,' I answered, growing somewhat impatient.
'What you see, then, is color, and if you had never touched anything, you would know only color, is that not so?'
'That is true,' I said.
'So your eyes are not sufficient to know the galanas,' he concluded.
'No, they are not, I suppose.'
'But if you were born a blind man, and had only your hands by which to know it, you would have a very poor understanding of its shape, and you would know nothing of its colors.'
I nodded.
'But tell me further, my son, if sight and touch are enough to know the flower? Do they not smell lovely? Are not, some of them, sweet to the tongue? But if you were lacking in any of these senses, how could you know all that could be known?'
'I could not,' I answered.
'Ask yourself this question, my son, and all the doubts of your friend will be taken away from you; for I apprehend that his words have caused you great anguish of mind. Ask yourself, "Why should I believe that my senses are sufficient to uncover all the secrets of the world, when each of them alone is insufficient?" Then you will understand that your own judgment is not sufficient to judge the world. This is the doctrine of Theodysus, as it has been passed down from Bel Albor to Jaffathed, and now to you. Meditate upon it, my son, and in due course it will bear fruit within your own soul, and, if it be the will of the Eternal One, it will bring comfort and peace to others.'
Many other things did our old m
aster recount to me during that night, until at last I sat there amazed, seeing that the sun was rising. 'Now you must go,' Jaffathed said, 'and I cannot foretell whether or not you shall return to us.'
'What do you mean?' I said, surprised. 'I am yet Nihlion; I go not in my friend's footsteps.'
'Yet still you must go, for there are great deeds to be done.'
'Great deeds?' I said puzzled. 'I am no warrior or prophet. How then can I do such things?'
'You will be to the world a two-fold witness, my son, such is the decree of that sacred spirit that comes from the Eternal One and reveals the truth to his people. In a dream I was told, even as our last elder lay dying, that you must leave our people. You must be a witness to the Omnion of the secrets of the Nihlion, for there is one from among them that needs our wisdom desperately, and to his soul is bound the fate of the northern kingdoms. To this end you must depart from us, but not in the same fashion as those rash young men who abandon our ways. A Nihlion you will remain until the world ends.'
'I am unfit and unworthy to perform such a task, my teacher,' I said with much fear in my heart.
'Fear not, child,' he said to me, 'for the sword has no skill in battle but what is wrought through the hand of the warrior. You are, as you have already indicated, not that warrior. But you are the work of that great smith, who knows for what ends he brings forth his creations. In his hand you will cut many foes and heal many wounds. But now, the time grows short and you must go to the tombstone of Thedmadera, for it is time for the old stories to come to life.'
Rahdmus
It did not occur to me that I had in any way doubted the prophecies of my people until I discovered my own surprise at the sight of old Thedmadera's tombstone. There was an old legend in our village, that upon this tombstone would come to rest one of the gods of old, a hero, a villain and a holy prophet. Nonsense this prediction had always seemed to me, for how could all these come to rest upon so small a tablet of stone. But as I made my way past the stones of my own ancestors and at last saw the a strange figure lying upon the grave of that ancient holy man, it all became clear. This was no mortal man, but rather one of the Ancients who are, by so many, deemed to be gods. His body was marked with many fell tattoos and carvings, making him seem to be a devil of hell. But to look upon his face was to look upon noble blood and a man of heroic character. For a purpose he had been laid to rest in this place; he was the messenger, bringing to the north the judgment of the gods.
I approached him slowly, for he seemed to be sleeping deeply. But when I drew near I saw that his eyes were open slightly. He rose from his place and looked at me. 'You are the one then?' he asked. 'You are the one that will go with me over the mountains?'
'So I am told,' I said, 'And though it is a calling of which I feel unworthy, I will do all that is within my power to serve you.'
'To serve one such as myself,' he said soberly, yet joyfully, 'you are more than worthy. I am Rahdmus, which I am told signifies the One who is Redeemed. Many broken things have been recast and fitted to other tasks than the ones they once performed. I was once a piercing sword, now I shall plow fields, reaping for all mankind a harvest, or so I am told. But what is a farmer without a seed?'
I could see at once that he meant for me to answer, I said, 'He will be no farmer at all.'
'Indeed,' he said to me with a smile, 'You are the seed, and your words shall bring some comfort to a man I once wounded. But we must hurry, for we have many things to do ere that day comes.'
As we walked, Rahdmus began to explain, hastily, what it was that we must accomplish. 'To the hidden people of these mountains we must first make our appeal. This, I am told, will be my first test, and whether they march to the north to the aid of Dadron or not will matter very little. I am told that I must be brought lower still, and to this end we must seek the hidden survivors of that ancient kingdom of elves.'
Finding myself completely confounded I stopped and told him plainly, 'Please, master, I am the least of many sons of a house of no renown. I know nothing of the things about which you speak.'
'Very well,' he said with a laugh, 'Where am I to begin, then?'
'At the start,' I said, 'Who are you? And by whom have you been sent?'
I have been sent by one called Paley, who has in his fist the power of a god.'
'Paley I know, but in name only, for he appears in the ancient stories of the Nihlion.'
'Then you know his purposes, the pulling down and humiliation of the mighty, and the restoration of the broken.'
'So the stories say,' I said.
'And they say truly,' Rahdmus said confidently.
'But who are you? And how have you come to rest upon this stone, even as the legends have long spoken?'
'Who am I?' he said, almost as though he was asking himself. 'I am as I have been made to be, and also as I have made myself, the latter has perished, the former has not yet been fully revealed.' He looked at the sky as if he expected it to answer his query. At last he spoke, saying, 'I am Daruvis, son of Falruvis, once lord of the Argent elves. By my hand was the mighty city of Dadron long preserved. But by my hand also did it also meet its end, falling forever into the hands of mortal men. Under Black armor did I thereafter hide myself, going about from nation to nation under the guise of a dark warrior. Lord of Havoc I was named, for in my wake always followed war and upheaval, though none of these until late had any power over me. A god was I to many, and a traitor was I to many more. I have killed and spared, tormented and shown mercy; all of this for my own ends. But in this late hour, when all the wheels of my own great engine roar and turn, trampling down the nations, I have been sent, against my own will, to set myself before it and grind the raging machine to a halt. This I am to do without drawing a blade, for I have been told that in the day that I take sword in hand against any creature I will perish, sinking down to the pit of Abban-Don, which lies, they say, deeper than the ocean.'
For the next several days we walked openly upon the southward roads, talking of many things. Rahdmus told me his whole history, which will find its proper place elsewhere, from his childhood to his battle upon Mount Coronan. In turn I taught to him all the sacred histories of our people, from our foundation until our latter end, which lies yet in the days to come. This brought him great satisfaction; he said to me, 'This is more than one could hope for; and more than I deserve to hear. Yet it is such that only those who have been stripped of their pride can bear.'
'There are none,' I said, 'who deserve such blessings as the future yet withholds.'
We continued along the southern road until we crossed the Ula River and came to the lands of the Omnion, some forty leagues to the west. We passed through these unnoticed, save by a few laborers in their fields, preparing their land for cultivation.
Far beyond these we went, until we came to a rocky place, where the road turned sharply to the south and vanished from sight in the distance. But here, without hesitation or explanation, Rahdmus left the road and continued westward.
We traveled on, sometimes turning, sometimes walking northward for many leagues only to turn round a stony bend and travel back south. When at last all these winding paths were finished we came to a place where huge boulders blocked our path on every side. Undaunted, Rahdmus walked confidently westward. But as he came to the rocks he knelt down and, finding a small tunnel hidden from sight, he vanished into the darkness. When I myself came to the rocks I saw no entrance. But Rahdmus reached his hand out from some hidden place and beckoned me to follow. Reluctantly I knelt down to the ground and after much gazing and pondering I noticed a place where the shadow of the rock upon itself was darker than in other places. Much to my surprise I discovered that this was in fact a small opening, though it was almost completely hidden from sight.
When I stepped in after him I found that we were in a small cave. 'This is the gate of the remnant of Solsis,' Rahdmus said to me as I brushed the dirt from my robes. 'Beyond this lies a valley to which no army can ever march. Th
is valley is itself the hidden fortress of Solsis. No walls did it need, or fortifications. For the mountain itself has always guarded it. Long have I pondered a means of destroying these hidden people, to take revenge upon them for wrongs anciently done and lies anciently spoken. But the fire of my wrath has been sealed away in death. I go now as a messenger, with power in words if with power at all. I have not been promised any success in this land.'
A torch was lit and the cave was revealed to our sight. The walls were almost perfectly round, though they were now crumbling in some places.
I cannot guess how long we walked in that dark place. It seemed to me that it must have been for at least three days, but in the changeless dark I could not tell. We came at last to a place where the tunnel opened up and our torchlight revealed a great cavern. Somewhere in the depths I could hear a mighty river rushing, tearing through the heart of the mountain, sending cool spray upon us as we traveled. Here there were many paths and bridges, leading into many dark tunnels. Rahdmus navigated these without any sign of doubt or confusion. 'You know these paths well,' I said, noting his confidence.
'I walked them many times in the ancient days,' he said sorrowfully, 'when I yet trusted the lords of the elves, my father and my uncle.' He sighed and put his hand against the wall. 'I myself labored in these very caves,' he said, 'though that was many thousands of years ago.'
In wonder I walked on, following him through many dark places. It occurred to me only in later years how foolish it would seem to walk all those mysterious paths as I did, paying no heed to where I was being led. The prudent man in me would cry out, saying, 'What would you do if you found yourself alone in this place and without a guide!?' But I feared no such thing at the time, for in the purposes of the Eternal One there is nothing to fear; they will be accomplished whether we will it or not. Small help this may seem, but to me it is a great comfort to know that one cannot overthrow the gods by folly.
The Ancients
In the distance I saw before my weary eyes a bright light. Though it seemed brighter than any light I had ever seen, it was revealed to be mere moonlight, shining upon the earth in the sun's stead. We did not travel far into the land beyond the tunnel when we were waylaid by men such as I had never imagined. Like Rahdmus in stature and nobility, they were radiant and seemed to be full of moonlight themselves. In some strange tongue they commanded us to halt, and then, seeing Rahdmus, they cried out with anger and leapt upon us, wrestling us to the ground. We were bound and blindfolded and then carried, roughly, for the rest of that day and half of the next. We stopped and were fed some sort of bread and given some water mingled with a few drops of wine. Strength the food gave us, but it left a horrid taste in my mouth. Three more days we were carried thus; westward I thought, for the sun was always behind us at the start of our journey. We came at last to a hard and flat place, where the ground was paved with smooth stones, as my ears guessed and my eyes later beheld. In this place we were brought up many flights of stairs and through many darkened hallways until at last we were cast down roughly upon hard stones.
Blinking under the bright light of the sun, we found ourselves surrounded by many mighty heroes of old. Before them stood two dozen Argent elves of Solsis, with silvery hair, bright armor and strong spears, pointed at our throats. Rahdmus knelt beside me with his eyes closed and his brow furrowed. I could not tell what went through his mind at that moment. He seemed at once angry yet sorrowful and willful yet resigned.
We were in a great stone hall, cut skillfully from living rock. In many places the rock had been split open, carefully revealing bright gemstones in the wall and ceiling itself. A labor of centuries this hall must have been. As I looked at the noble faces before me I could not doubt that it was their hands that had, in ancient times, done all this work.
'Many bold deeds hath Daruvis done in his long life,' a proud and noble voice said. 'But none will be accounted more daring than this thy coming to the land of the Betrayed.'
Rahdmus said nothing, but his eyes were clenched shut as though he was struggling with some distant memory.
'Nothing?' the voice said, 'Nothing from thy proud lips? Thou, whose tongue hath set the world ablaze?'
Through all these taunts Rahdmus said nothing.
'An enemy of this land thou art, and it would be folly for thee to expect anything but death in coming. Death thou deservest, and death I would gladly give to thee. But the manner of thy coming, without sword or army, hath puzzled me greatly. Perhaps thou hast found no more satisfying way to die, and hath come here lest even in death disappointed thou might be.'
The one who made these taunts stood upon a dais before a stone seat, carefully carved from the wall of the cave.
'I come,' Rahdmus said after he took a nervous breath, 'I come because my life has already been taken away from me. Look upon my wounds, Solran son of Lorvis son of Solruvis' Rahdmus said as his bindings, tied by elven hands, fell away and piled upon themselves on the stone floor. The elves were too stunned to do anything, much to the frustration of Solren, who stood there with his own mouth agape. When the surprise had passed, Solren stepped down from the dais and looked at the scars on Rahdmus' chest and back. He could see where the sharp blade and entered and left his body. 'What is the meaning of this devilry?' he asked him.
'A tree must be broken and cast down ere it can be remade into more useful things,' he answered, 'I have been broken. Now I am being remade by the one whom the elves have long forgotten.'
'Of the Old World thou speakest,' Solran said.
'Indeed,' Rahdmus answered. 'I have been sent to warn you. The doom of the elves yet lies upon you. And you shall not escape it in Tel Arie. Return, therefore, to the One whom you have abandoned, and you will find rest for your weary souls.'
'Truly thou meaneth to slay us all,' Solran laughed. 'Was it not from his wrath that our fathers in the ancient days fled? Are there not yet some among us who remember the terror that fell upon us in that hour? I remember the screaming and the horror of those that drowned, though I remember little else. I was but a child when my father and grandfather left the Northern World in crude rafts of wood, but the dread of that place has not left me. Now you come, in the hour you are least wanted, to call us to repentance?'
'I was there in that hour as well, Solran, though I was much older than you. I remember the proud words of our fathers, and the calamity they brought upon themselves in that day. I remember my own proud words,' Rahdmus stopped and his eyes looked upon the stone floor. 'We were all fools in that day, and your rage might just as well be brought against your own father as against me. If I have been the downfall of the mighty kingdom of Falruvis, then it is only because he was the downfall of us all first.'
After he had said this he knelt down on the stone floor and hung his head low, 'You may strike me down, if you so desire, son of Lorvis, I am no longer afraid of death.'
There was a great silence following his words. But at length Solran said to him, 'Rise, thou slayer of kin! I will not have my hands dirtied with thy blood. Go now, and I put this curse upon thee: Even as thou hast come to offer us release, so do I release thee from death. Let no elven hand be set against thee, not in this world or in any other. Let thy bones grow thin and frail and your heart weary, but let no rest be granted to thee. A liar thou art; let all others lie to thee. I curse you with all the hatred of the undying ones forever.'
Almost before he had finished speaking, we were bound once more and our eyes were covered. I laughed within myself as I saw, ere they covered my eyes, the great care and attention that was given to Rahdmus' bindings. These elven lords, ancient of years, shook their heads in confusion as they looked from their new knots to the pile of rope from their previous work. The thought came to me, and my heart felt heavy as I thought it, 'These Ancients, who for so many ages have lived and walked the earth, are no more the wiser for it. Much have they learned, but still, little do they understand for all of their labors. They were still not willing to admit of the Power t
hat loosed their captive from his bonds.'
Our return was much the same as our arrival. The elves gave us a torch for our journey through the caverns, a gift born out of their haste to see us depart and not out of kindness. The caves we traversed in silence, only speaking when the hazards of the road required it.
When we had returned at last to those narrower tunnels Rahdmus turned abruptly north and led us out of the cavern through a different path. The path began to ascend and as we walked the air steadily grew lighter and cooler. Almost at once the hall grew light, the walls themselves fell behind us and we were thrust out into the light, high in a mountain pass. 'It is by this very road,' Rahdmus explained, 'that Solruvis, his son Lorvis, and a great multitude of elven warriors passed into the north, marching to the rescue of their kin in Dadron. But it was to no avail, for the powers that worked against them were greater than they could have imagined. The Argent elves were broken, the only remnant now lives in the hidden vale in Solsis, from which we have just come. But they shall not long survive the fate that is soon to befall the whole world.'
'What do you mean? What fate?' I asked, greatly troubled by his words.
'For now I am not permitted to say more than this, the world will change, and those who are not prepared will be swept away. For the Argent elves, my coming was their final chance to regain their honor and virtue. Now they have nothing to do but to wait for the end.'
Unable to get any clearer notion of his meaning I fell once more to silence. He led us higher into the mountains along a broad, but perilous path, finally wrapping around a great peak. There we saw the sun in its full glory, rising above a land I had never seen. The whole vale of Falsis appeared before us, revealed by morning light. In the distance, through the clear mountain air, I could see a glowing speck of light atop a distant hill. How many leagues lay between it and us I could not tell, for distance is illusive in the mountains. But it seemed as if a pillar of fire rose from the the center of the valley.
'That is Dadron,' Rahdmus said proudly. 'There I once dwelt, and while I dwelt there I thought myself wise. The shining light you see leaping from the valley like a flame is the temple of Pelas, the god of all Falsis, illuminated by the power of the dawn.'
Never in all my years have I seen a sight more beautiful and amazing.