Chapter IX:
Reunion
To her lover's arms she returned,
To find his passion bright still burned,
Then swore they their eternal love,
Beneath the starry host above.
And when in ages later came,
Fell Vantu to defile her name,
Her lover, filled with mournful ire,
Slew him, his sword a venging fire.
Though lovers both have passed away,
The stars above still hold their sway,
Over the land on which they fought,
And by their trials true love wrought.
Smoke at Grenost
The elves and the Knariss, along with what remained of the Snakil, labored through the night by the light of torches to secure the Serpent's great bulk to the ships. Sharks were drawn by the thousands, and soon the whole sea was teaming with the carrion of the deeps. Every creature seemed to want to get its fill of their former master. 'There will be nothing for the Snakil to feast upon,' Sol said as he considered the size of the monster. 'We will be lucky if we can save any of it.'
'We must save the head at the very least,' Pelas demanded. 'Cut the rest loose if you must. I will not lose the head with the body for trying to save the whole. Take the head and fasten it to the Fatewind. Cut the rest loose for the sharks.'
The sailors spent the rest of that day cutting great pieces of flesh, breaking the spikes off to load into the ships, and separating the creature's mighty head from the rest of its body. The meat by and large went to the Snakil, who devoured it enthusiastically, thinking it would in some way render them divine. The Knariss took every drop of oil, every length of bone, and every hardened scale they could remove and stored them carefully upon their ships. But in the end the creature was released, its headless corpse sinking into the depths, the sharks following it with their hungry mouths gaping. The wrecks were taken to pieces and the survivors were distributed among the ships that remained. The Dadiiron had been struck by lightning, but the rain had put out the flames almost as soon as they had started. 'We were fortunate,' Falruvis said to Alsley.
But when Pelas described his own ship's escape from the many perils it had faced he said, 'Fate was with us.'
By the third day there was nothing more to be done. They left their wreckage and their dead and began the return voyage to Grenost. Less than a hundred ships remained of their fleet. But this was more than Pelas had expected to save. As they sailed back he fell into fits of wild laughter, and shouted curses and blessings up into the heavens.
'Does he wish to summon the Fire Bird?' Ghastin said, shaking his head as he watched their leader from the deck of the Dadiiron.
'Pray, brother,' Amro said seriously, 'that the Fire Bird at least is but a fable.'
When the fleet drew near to Grenost their joy was stolen away. The whole fortress was a ruin, and small whisps of smoke danced about in the wind. 'This is nearly a week old,' Kolohi said as they went ashore. The Snakil sailed on to their own harbors with the meat of the Serpent dried and spiced, and ready to be sold. The elves and the Knariss, however, rummaged through the ruins in search of anything that might be of value. All their gold, and all that they had pillaged from Dominas had been taken away. 'We are left with a rotting skull, then,' Bralohi complained, looking out over the water at the Serpent's head. It had proved too large to carry on any one of the ships. They had secured it with chains and ropes to the Dadiiron and to the Fatewind, and to a number of smaller ships besides. Now it was naught but a skull, the flesh having been stripped away by sharks.
Ghastin vanished from the beach as soon as they landed, and did not return until after dark. He returned with a group of Snakilmen, and was busy for the rest of the evening upon the Dadiiron. He would speak to nobody, and he went to sleep before anyone else boarded the ship. He seemed rather satisfied with this turn of events, however.
'Who did this?' Dalia asked the others. 'Not the Snakil,' she said firmly, shaking her head in astonishment.
'Nor the Lakil,' Sol said thoughtfully. 'We have done nothing to wrong either of them.'
'You think this to be retaliation, then? Retaliation for a wrong?' Pelas did not seem to appreciate the implications of such an idea.
'Just have been all the deeds of Lord Pelas,' Sol answered carefully, 'But justice, to the unjust, is unjust, and so they would feel the need for revenge, though they would not have the right to it.'
'It was the Magi,' Amro said confidently.
'How can you know such a thing?' Pelas asked.
'Because they are the most unjust, and so your justice would seem quite unjust indeed,' the smith replied.
He exchanged an understanding glance with Sol, but nobody else dared acknowledge their mockery.
'What shall we do, my lord?' Oblis asked, as if there was anything that could be done about it.
'Shall we exact revenge against them?' Cheru asked.
'We can hardly accept such a turn without response,' Pelas said. 'They will learn that they have struggled against a god ere the end.'
'Shall I set out to find Agonas?' Amro said after a pause.
Pelas' head turned faster than lightning, 'What do you mean?' He had all but forgotten that he had a brother. 'Why should you seek Agonas?' Pelas asked incredulously.
'If we have need of his strength, my lord, it would not do for us to let him return to Sunlan without having news of our contest with the Tower.'
Pelas seemed suddenly very nervous.
'We are Immortals,' Pelas said firmly. 'We shall make the Tower pay in blood for what they have done and pay in full for what they have taken from us. Make no mistake, my companions,' he said resolutely, 'I will see the Tower fall into the ocean; I swear it by all the gods of heaven. Mark it, my friends, for it is truth.'
But this was all his way of distracting them from the fact that he suddenly felt an urgency to return to Sunlan before his brother. 'Who knows,' he thought to himself when all the others had returned to their ships for the night, leaving him, Cheru and Oblis upon the shore, 'perhaps he is already in Sunlan, wed to Indra, and earning the favor of Ijjan.'
'Curse him!' Pelas said coldly.
Beyond Duty
Captain Proud had been summoned to the Tower on the first day of Frohest. This meant one of two things, as Proud understood: it meant either that one was to be executed, or it meant that they were to be taken into the Tower. The latter turn of events only happened to the most promising of youths, however, and it had been thirty years since Proud could have been considered a youth. He had never been considered promising. He also knew that, when summoned to the Tower, there was no defending yourself - there was no trial and only one possible verdict. 'I might as well give it a shot, though,' he thought to himself. 'All things must have a first.'
He had been charged with the defense of Lapulia's waters and had on many occasions confronted the elves of Grenost as they plundered the coastal towns of Dominas. He dared not bring his fleet of Fireships beyond the South Isles, which marked the edge of Lapulia's naval influence. Those waters were treacherous, and one could easily be taken by surprise if an enemy fleet hid itself among the isles. It was far better to avoid the eastern shore of Dominas altogether.
The setting forth of so great a fleet as Pelas had departed with could not go undiscovered by the Magic Tower. Captain Proud was sent to investigate, but he, in addition to investigating, burned Grenost to the ground with fire and took everything that was of value. The elves returned, licking their wounds and dragging the carcass of the Serpent to find their home of nearly three years a smoldering ruin.
Captain Proud returned with his ships filled to the brim with treasure and to the sound of singing in the streets. The people of Lapulia saw the elves as nothing more than pirates, and when they saw the return of so much wealth to the Magic City they could not be calmed. Before this adulation had gone on long, however, he received a summons to the Tower. 'Captain Proud, report to the Tower,'
was all the message said. His heart seemed to freeze within his chest as he read it, nervously brushing his fingers through his gray hair.
The Tower was originally built in the center of the city, but the long years had stripped most of the old city away, leaving the Tower standing above the flooded ruins alone. A great causeway extended from the land and connected the Tower to the mainland. No man knew who had built the Tower. It was older even than the ruins over which it stood, and the oldest histories were filled with legends - much to the frustration of the Magi, who attempted in every way to purge themselves and their people of superstition. This latter fact kept gnawing at Captain Proud's patience; for the Black Adder seemed to speak as though there was a prophet among their numbers, but such a thing was, by their own doctrines, an impossibility.
The entire Tower is made of Moonshade, the strong, black stone that once gave the idol of Agonas in Amlaman both its beauty and its terrors. It is said that the stones can only be found beneath the city of Lapulia, but little effort was made to quarry the stone unless the Tower was in need of repair. The fact that this material made its way to Stena-Agona can only be explained by the fact that my ancestors were willing to do just about anything - even encourage superstitious devil-worship - if only they could overthrow Almighty Dadron. For they recognized the name of the city, and they knew its master Falruvis from their histories.
The lowest levels of the Tower were all but unknown to even the Magi. No man knew what lay beneath the old city; and the Tower's lowest levels plunged deep into the heart of the earth. The main entrance to the Magic Tower was on the eastern side. There was a great archway that had been carved from what was once just another one of the Tower's many rounded windows. At some time, presumably after the old city was flooded, this window was expanded and reshaped to serve as the primary entrance to the Tower. There was an elaborately confusing system of ladders and walkways built into the side of the Tower so that it would be possible to ascend and enter the Tower through other passages. But these walkways were so confounding that they were only used under the most dire of circumstances.
A great wooden door stood at the end of the causeway, barring entrance into the Tower. There was also, Proud knew, a gate of Adamant that could be lowered if the need should arise. But the Tower had nothing to fear from him. The wooden door would be more than sufficient to bar his path.
As he stood before the door he heard a strange whirring and soon the doors began to slide away of their own accord, leaving him standing on the threshold of the Tower in amazement. After some hesitation he stepped inside. The doors swung closed as soon as he was clear of the doorway, but he still had not seen another soul. For some time he stood bewildered in the entryway. There were several stone benches along the rounded tower walls, each equally distant one from the other. In the center there was a great spiraling staircase curving toward the righthand side as it climbed up into the sky. Proud shuddered to think that men actually ascended these stairs all the way to the top of the Tower. The calm sunlight that slipped into the Tower through its rounded windows did little to relieve the feeling he had that there was something immensely powerful above him. Whether he in some way perceived the great weight of the structure as it hung over his head, or whether he thought of the power of the Magi he did not know. He swallowed nervously and began to wonder if he was meant to go upstairs. Before he could make any such decision he heard the sound of footsteps descending the stairs.
He was greeted by a servant, a pale skinned youth of about nineteen years. 'Training to be a Black Adder no doubt,' Proud thought to himself. The boy looked like a serpent to him in his movements. There was a school of sorts within the Tower, a vast library that occupied seventeen entire floors of the structure, and even something of an infirmary. It was said, however, that this was not the place to bring the sick unless there was no other alternative.
He followed the boy up three flights of stairs to reach a floor very much like the one by which he had entered the Tower. Here, however, there were scrolls and parchments stacked up high on wooden desks, and there were men with quills and ink laboring over piles of notes and books. The Black Adder called Thann stood just five paces from the entryway, as if he had been expecting Proud to arrive at that very instant. As if to make it clear just how serious this meeting would be, he dismissed the men as servants and told the youth to, 'Tell the Magi what has happened.'
Proud opened his mouth to speak, but Thann began before he so much as made a sound.
'What have you done!?' Thann hissed, his eyes bulging with anger.
'I have done only what any good man of Lapulia would have done,' Proud replied. 'For years they have been a thorn in our foot, bleeding the people of Lapulia dry, terrorizing our ports and villages and giving succor to our enemies.'
'And you thought that the Tower was not wise enough to decide what ought to be done? Do you not understand?' Thann said with frustration. 'The Tower commands what it commands, and it always commands what is the best course. To do more is as foolish as to do less.'
'Shall their evils go unpunished? Shall they leave our land enriched, to speak of their good fortune among the Sunlanders - and tell them of how we combine great learning with great softness, great wealth with great carelessness, and great power with great folly. Did you not see the people react? How they rejoiced at our coming? Did you not see how they were given hope and peace, knowing that Lapulia has its protectors?' He knew as soon as he had spoken that his temper had gotten the better of him. He swallowed, and he felt as though all the color in his face drained down his throat and knotted in his stomach. He must look as pale as the Tower-dwellers, he thought.
'It is the enthusiasm of the people alone that stays our hand, Captain,' Thann said coldly. 'The Tower would see your blood but for their love of you. The Tower protects the people. The Tower, however, does not sacrifice the future for the present. From atop the heights of this Tower the Magi sees far - he sees farther than those upon the ground. In the same way, the Magi, whose wisdom beholds the stars themselves, stands higher, and sees farther than the minds of ordinary men. What you have done shall endanger all that we have striven for since the ancient days. The Tower strives after certainty, but your actions have thrown everything into doubt. Where we would have had a fact, we are left with a riddle.'
'Again you speak like a Snakilman,' Proud said, his courage renewed. 'What riddle? And how should you come to it? Has the Magi been consulting with oracles and seers?'
'He who understands the past is as good as a prophet,' was all the explanation that Thann would give. 'As for the riddle, it has been said that from your line shall rise the savior of Lapulia: He who shall break the Tower asunder.'
Captain Proud stepped back fearfully, his eyes darting from side to side as he considered what Thann had said. 'This,' he said, fear tightening around his throat, 'this is a prophecy?' He would not have feared such words if they had come from anyone other than one of the Black Adder. If a drunk or a fool reported a fable, in his drunkenness or his folly you can rest easy. But the Black Adder, whatever else they might be, were not fools, and they were forbidden to drink wine or any other kind of strong drink.
'This has been foreseen,' Thann answered flatly.
The Return to Sunlan
There was naught for the elves to do now but return, with the monstrous jaws of the Thunder Snake as their only trophy. The Snakil were promised the undying gratitude and support of the elves and the Knariss were promised rewards from Ijjan's treasury. The elves were under no such illusions. They knew that the only thing this voyage was likely to have procured for them was the appreciation of Lord Pelas, the value of which was openly doubted by many of them.
'You are taking this rather well,' Dalia marveled, when she saw how little Ghastin reacted to this turn of events. Falruvis had called a gathering of those elves who had sailed with him aboard the Dadiiron. He would not go against his master by informing the Knariss of how l
ittle they would receive in payment for their troubles. But he could not lie to the elves, most of whom had come because they had been faithful to Pelas since the days he ruled over Ilvas. 'There is no gold, my brothers, he told them. We must again content ourselves that we have done all in the service of Parganas' son. If Ijjan sees fit to open his treasures to us, so be it; but expect nothing, and demand less. We have done what no other has nor could do, and every one of you is a hero for it, worthy of song.'
Ghastin stood behind all the others with his arms crossed and a hint of a grin appearing on his face. 'You expected this from the beginning,' Dalia said accusingly. 'You never expected a reward.'
Ghastin shrugged, but said nothing.
Amro smiled and gave his brother a slight push, saying, 'Ghastin has already received his reward. He has seen elvish faces filled with resignation and defeat.'
'Brother,' Ghastin said, feigning injury, 'How could you think that I would be satisfied with such a thing?'
'I cannot tell which of you is the more treacherous sometimes,' Dalia said. The three of them continued to make light of things, but in truth the laughter began to wear on Dalia, who had come on the voyage, not for any love of Pelas, but to satisfy her father's cruel demands upon her beloved.
'Do not worry, Dalele,' Ghastin assured her. 'Your father will not hold to his demand. He will be so pleased with your return that he will reward you with gold from his own stores. He will not forbid your marriage now that you have proven yourself a hero.'
Dalia sniffed, 'I don't want his treasure, nor do I want his permission. His cruelty led me to this.' Tears filled her eyes as she thought about the scars upon her back. Her nostrils flared with anger and she said, 'I do not wish for his mercy, Ghastin. I would sooner see him dead upon the ground.'
'Nevertheless, Dalele,' Ghastin said, his eyes deadly serious, 'worry not about your father or his treasures, or your own lack thereof. I swear you shall have your reward.'
She could get him to say no more on the matter, but he did not swear anything lightly.
On the twelfth day of Paschest the fleet of Pelas came within sight of Sunlan. By that evening the seventy ships they had remaining were docked and the crews disembarked. Each sailor was given a share of what wealth remained, enough for a man and his family to live comfortably for about a year. Pelas had prudently set aside some gold before his departure for just such a turn of events. They were not pleased, but they had no claim against him, and they departed without complaint.
The streets of Evnai were filled with people, both men and elves, some coming to greet their relatives, others to see the marvel that now stood in the port. The great skull of the Thunder Snake was lowered carefully from the ship and placed upon a platform in the center of the city where a great many people came to see it. Some were so overcome by its size that they swooned in the street where they stood. All over the city people shook their heads and marveled, saying, 'I cannot believe it!'
Pelas sent messengers to Sunlan Palace, declaring his return to Ijjan and swearing his undying obedience to Evnai, the Goddess of Sunlan.
Dalia left the ship and stepped back into the land of her birth without anyone to greet her or without any special notice. No message had been sent to Sunlan, so there was no way for word to have come to Thuruvis about their returning. Most of the Knariss sailors dwelt in Evnai, and by the evening they had all returned to their homes and families. But she did not wish to see her home. If she saw her father she was afraid that she might lose all control of her anger - and she was fairly certain that this time she would not need to rely upon his sympathies to best him with a sword. 'I am scarcely the woman who left; how can I claim to be the one he loved?' she thought to herself. Her spirit sunk.
Amro took her by the arm and led her through crowded streets. Somehow she found herself in an inn called the Sun's Herald. She could not have said where Amro went when he left her, but she suddenly came to herself as she sat there on the bed, gripping the hilt of her sword. As she undressed for bed her fingers slid over the rough scars upon her shoulders. 'I am a ruin now,' she said aloud. 'And how am I to face my father, having accomplished nothing.' Rage and sorrow took turns tormenting her soul as she tossed about beneath her blankets, fighting with all her might for the peace of sleep.
She knew not how long she had slept when there came a loud knocking at her door. Amro was already fully clothed and ready to travel. 'Shall we go, then, Dalele?' he asked. 'Your mother will desire to see you.'
'Have messengers been sent to Centan yet?' Dalia asked.
'I do not think so,' he answered. 'In Sunlan you inform the King before you inform his captains, unless it is a matter of war or some other great danger. She will hear as soon as the messengers to Ijjan's court deliver their account and are sent out again to summon Pelas to his master.'
'I wonder how pleased Ijjan will be with what we have returned with,' Dalia said, yawning.
'He was undoubtedly hoping the Pelas would have drowned beneath the ocean,' Amro laughed. 'But the head of the Serpent should enhance the reputation of Sunlan enough for him to be contented.'
'And my father will surely be contented with my return,' she muttered.
'I am sure that is the case,' Amro said. 'Come. Let us go to him.'
'I cannot go to Centan,' she said grimly. 'I am afraid of what I might do when I see his disgusting face!' As she spoke each word she grew angrier and angrier, until the last word was very nearly a shout.'
'He is not at Centan,' Amro said. 'He has resigned his command there, and now battles the goblins of the Talon Mountains.'
Her brows drew close together and she turned her head to look at him in confusion. 'What happened?'
'I do not know if anything happened,' Amro said, 'But this is what I have been told. No doubt as soon as the messengers reach him he will make for Centan, expecting you to return thither to see your mother.'
'Let him,' Dalia said coldly, allowing her rage to cool into a hard indifference. 'I will not go there.'
'Come,' Amro said, nearly commanding her, 'See your mother, and then go where you wish. If we leave now we can surely reach Centan before he arrives.'
'Where is Thuruvis?' she asked suddenly.
Amro said nothing for a moment, and looked down at his feet.
'Tell me at once!' she demanded. 'What has happened?'
'I do not know,' Amro said firmly. 'But he is in the Talons as well. That is all that I have been able to learn. Nothing more has been said.'
'They are in the Talons together?' she said in confusion.
'I do not know if they are together,' Amro said, shifting his feet as he spoke. 'The Talons are very large.'
Dalia shook her head in annoyance, 'I know how large the Talons are, Amro. But there are only so many forts; it would be very unlikely that they do not cross paths now and again.'
'I do not know what to say aside from the fact that I understand it no better than you.'
She shook her head. She could only think that somehow her father had threatened Thuruvis and thereby compelled him to serve him. But she still could not puzzle out what might have brought the two of them into the mountains.
'Dalele,' Amro said, interrupting her thoughts. 'If we leave at once, we can see your mother, and perhaps learn more of these strange tidings. But if we tarry even for a day, your father will probably reach Centan before us.'
'Very well,' she said. She shut the door and threw a dress over her nightgown, quickly fastening a belt at her waist. For a moment she hesitated as she considered her two swords, the one fit for court and the other fit for war. She could defeat her father easily with either blade, she knew. With her old blade she could make the insult all the more painful, as it was a woman's blade through and through. But with her new sword she could make it clear that she was in every respect his equal. In the end she chose to wear the sword that Amro had made for her in Grenost. 'Cutha Dalelis Marineis!' she said loudly as she held it up to the window. For a moment she w
as once again a fierce woman of the sea; the slayer of the Thunder Snake, hero of Sunlan. She sheathed the sword and shook her head. She would have to leave all such denominations behind her. 'How shall he accept me as such a creature?' she thought to herself. 'I am like a man now; I am not a gentle thing.' But somewhere deep within she knew that Thuruvis would still love her, with the scars and with the sword. She brushed her hair and tied it back with a blue ribbon.
Laughing, she made her way from her room and down the stairs to the dining room. After a hearty breakfast of fried eggs, ham and toasted bread the two of them departed. 'Where is Ghastin?' she said, suddenly realizing that in her distress she had not thought of him.
'He has gone ahead to Centan.'
'For what purpose?' Dalia asked.
'He told me nothing,' Amro shrugged.
The two elves made their way from Evnai to Centan without difficulty. They crossed the Esthalon and made their way through a quiet land of falling leaves and gentle hills. Dalia marveled at the many colored leaves as the brisk wind blew them from the trees. It was not very cold for that time of year, but to those who had spent the past three years in the sun baked south it felt like the depths of winter. 'And they call this land Sunlan,' Amro mused.
Dalia could not find humor in anything now. She worried about what she might say when she at last encountered her father. She did not even know what she would say to her mother Ele. But most of her unease came from a growing desire to once again see the face of Thuruvis her beloved. She had missed him greatly, but now that she was in a familiar land his absence struck her all the more strongly.
They came at last to Centan on the fifteenth day of Paschest. The city looked much as it had ever looked. There was a great multitude of guards at the ready; prepared to march in any direction should an enemy imperil the land. Seeing them stand so proud and brave in their uniforms brought tender memories of her love to her mind. Tears streamed down her face as she rode, but she did not quite weep. In her eyes was a smoldering fire, waiting for some little gust of wind to turn it into a blaze.
The guards did not recognize her at first, for she stood tall and proud, and she was not adorned like the daughter of an elf lord. But when she spoke, and when they had taken a good look at her face, they let her pass. 'None could so resemble the lord Dalta without being kin,' the captain of the guards said, waving them on and bowing his head in welcome. They rode on, coming at last to the fortress that had been her home for all these years.
Amro tilted his head, pointing at the front gate. 'Come,' he said firmly.
The Messenger
The first elf to hear of the return of Lord Pelas, in fact, was Thuruvis. The servants of Pelas and his brother had not been idle in all the time that their masters had been away. They had labored to procure for the elves of Ilvas as many positions of command as was possible. They told their people to swear any oath, endure any test, if only they could persuade the King and people of Sunlan to put power into their hands. Whether it was one gaining the master's seat in the shipwrights' guild or another becoming a captain in the palace of Sunlan, Dalta and Thuruvis labored day and night to find ways for their own servants to acquire sway and authority.
They primarily accomplished this by bringing Ilvasen, as they were often called in those days, into the Talons to battle the goblins. In truth there were not many goblins in those mountains by that time, but there were also no eyes or ears, and the Ilvasen could invent any story they wished, and send as many Ilvasen back to Sunlan as heroes and defenders of Ijjan's land. In gratitude for their labors, they were given positions of importance, and placed in command of armies.
The Nook had become the center for all their efforts, as it was remote enough that the Ilvasen could plot and plan as much as they liked without worrying about being discovered by their enemies. 'You could shout our plans from the Head of the Snake, but the Nookmen would not understand, and the Sunlanders would not hear,' Dalta laughed.
They had also begun gathering arms to this quiet mountain land. Men were recruited from all over the Talon mountains and trained in warfare secretly. They were then put on patrols in the Talons and tested against what goblins could be found. It was not a great force, but Agonas' Dark Order did not call for great numbers - he only demanded secrecy.
To prepare for the return of the sons of Parganas, Dalta had ordered that a watch be kept upon the docks, and that a report should be sent to him immediately upon the return of their fleet. He did not expect them to return separately, however. And if he had thought that only one of them would return, he would have wagered that it would have been Agonas to succeed where Pelas could not. But the plan could work well enough for either brother. It would be easy enough to persuade Pelas that the idea had been his own, and not an order from his rival.
'Is the lady Dalele among them?' Thuruvis asked the messenger, his voice torn between urgency and trepidation. 'Is she well?'
'I saw her for but a moment, my lord,' the messenger said. 'She was walking by herself - on her own two legs, but that is as much as I can say. I have no reason to think she is not well.'
'And you say they actually slew the monster?' Dalta said with great wonder.
'The Thunder Snake, they called it. Lord Pelas has brought its skull to Evnai Port and placed it in the center of the city. And it is a sight to see. Nobody can doubt his might now.'
Thuruvis and Dalta looked at one another doubtfully. This is precisely the reason the sons of Parganas had been sent away. Now that Pelas had made himself a hero, he was even more of a threat to Ijjan's power.
'And what of his brother?' Dalta asked. 'Has Agonas returned as well?'
'Nobody has heard aught of him in more than two years,' the messenger replied. 'More than that none can say.'
'Pelas will not move against Ijjan if he is wed to Indra,' Dalta assured the other elf, when they were at last alone once more in the dining hall of Mara's Inn. The inn had become something of a headquarters for the elves as they planned and plotted according to Agonas' commands.
'Then our labors are made vain. Nay, they are made treasonous,' Thuruvis said somberly.
'No, I do not think so,' Dalta said calculatingly, 'Pelas will enjoy his bride for a time, but he will weary of servitude, and the success of his voyage will so fill him with fresh ambitions that he will eventually be forced to set his hand against the king of Sunlan. We must be prepared to cast our lot with whichever son of Parganas gains the mastery over the other. And if Agonas is lost, then that leaves Pelas.'
'I don't care who rules; may Ijjan live forever, as they say in the palace, but let Dalele remain safe,' Thuruvis said passionately. Dalta nodded, but there was a nervousness in his eyes.
'She must hate me,' Dalta said sadly.
Thuruvis said nothing. 'She would be right to hate you,' he thought. He had grown accustomed to working alongside the dark-haired lord of Centan, but he could not deceive himself that there was any way to mend what had been broken between Dalta and his daughter.
They left the Nook that very day and made their way south, following the course of the Esthalon as it wound its way through the land. The first day of their journey was spent among the rocky hills that separate the eastern Talon Mountains from the rest of the land of Sunlan. But as they emerged from these their path became smooth and easy. They rode quickly across the land, coming at last to Centan, where they could see even from a great distance that the whole city was in an uproar.
'What news of the city?' Dalta asked the guards as he rode up to the gate. 'What is this uproar?'
'My lord Dalta,' one of the guards said with a low bow. 'There is an exhibition being made in the market square.'
Dalta looked over at Thuruvis with a puzzled expression. There were no festivals or feasts at this time of year in Sunlan.
'Is the Lady Dalele in the city?' Thuruvis asked.
The guard looked closely at the two travelers. 'Thuruvis?' he marveled. 'And you are with-' the guards tongue seemed
to freeze in its place. Another guard shrugged his shoulders and answered, 'The Lady Dalele is in the market square as well.'
As the two elves made to pass the guard added, 'The Lady is expecting you, my lord.' He gave Dalta a look that seemed to say that he could tell him little more.
Dalta wiped his brow and rode forward, thinking rapidly of all the things that he might say to her. When he arrived in the market every excuse and apology was stolen from his lips. He found himself in a crowd of men, both immortals and mortals. All of them stared at him with knowing eyes. His cruel treatment of Thuruvis was now known by all, and every eye stared at him with a gleam of hatred.
In the center of the square the Lady Dalia stood with Amro at her side. The smith leaned against the great pole of a merchant's tent, looking absently at his hands. He did not so much as look at Dalta, though it was doubtless he had become aware of him.
Dalia wore a light sleeveless dress of pure white silk, such as the maidens of Sunlan wear in the royal palace. It was scarcely appropriate for a summer afternoon, but she wore it now in the biting cold of autumn. But she did not shiver or stir from the discomfort of the wind. Her eyes fell upon her father, and his heart froze within his chest. 'Behold,' Amro said, suddenly, still not acknowledging Dalta's presence. 'She whose blade slew the Thunder Snake!'
Thuruvis gasped and looked upon her with awe.
Dalta started toward her, and put his hands out in a pleading gesture. If she had let him he would have fallen to his knees and kissed her feet. As soon as he made to speak, however, she turned her back to him, revealing her uncovered scars for all the market to see. A murmur arose throughout the crowd as people gasped and wept over her wounds.
Thuruvis shut his eyes for an instant to stop his tears, but held his peace, though everything within him wanted to rush over to her and take her into his arms. 'But will she even have me?' he asked himself. 'She is a hero - she is fit to be in legends. She did it for my honor, but how can a woman save the honor of a man without stealing it for herself. He shook his head with a sudden resolve at that thought. 'No, I never wanted honor. I but want her love. If she still retains her love for me, and if she can forgive my weakness, then the Dragon could not stop me from loving her in return. Even if I must be her servant.'
As Dalia walked away from her father, Dalta noticed for the first time that there was a large merchant's scale standing behind her. It was a crude scale with two wooden platforms hanging from two great iron chains. It was meant for the weighing of swine and sheep, but Dalia had another plan for it. She leaped onto one of the platforms and turned to face Thuruvis. 'My love,' she said, 'All that I have is yours.' Her eyes seemed as warm for him as they were cold for her father.
'Dalele!' Thuruvis began, but she held up her finger to stop him, a hint of a grin on her face. A merchant came, as if it were his turn to take the stage, and he stood before Dalta with a small bag in his hand.
'My lord,' he said confidently, 'I trust that you will acknowledge the value of what I present to you.' He untied the bag and poured what looked like a dozen tiny gemstones into his hand. Showing the high elf he said, 'These are the scales of a fish; one that is but legend to us in Sunlan, but after which the fishermen of Dominas lust. For their scales are more beautiful than any diamond, and more valuable in any market that pure gold. The merchants of this city are willing to support my words with gold at any moment. Some would trade half of our wealth for just what lies here in my palm.'
Dalta looked at him with amazement, not sure of the meaning of his words. The merchant continued, Will you, therefore, accept these fins in the place of gold, and as the equal of gold in the very least?'
'I, I do,' he said, swallowing hard. Dalia looked at him with an emotionless face. From another place, again as though it were a production on a stage, merchants appeared, each bearing a small bag of lightfin scales. One by one in a great procession they poured the scales onto the other platform, until, little by little Dalia began to rise into the air, held aloft by the weight of the scales piled upon the other platform.
'This is not necessary!' Dalta shouted as they kept pouring and pouring the gemlike scales out of their bags. 'I release you from the price, Thuruvis!' he said at the edge of weeping. 'Dalele,' he said, pleading, 'Dalele.'
From atop the scale the beautiful Dalia looked down at him and said, without a hint of compassion, 'I am Dalele Marinea; the slayer of the Thunder Snake and the sworn servant of Lord Pelas,' she laughed mockingly as she continued, 'I trust that I need not accept any such kindnesses of you.'
When it was more than clear that the strange scales outweighed her, she leaped deftly from the scale and walked past her father with all the grace of her gentle upbringing. When she reached Thuruvis she paused, and her cold gaze seemed to melt. Her eyes filled up like puddles and she said with a shaking voice, 'I,' she began, but she could not push the words from her mouth. She glanced at her shoulder shamefully. But Thuruvis put a finger to her cheek and turned her eyes toward his own.
'We are a match now, that is all,' he said with a smile.
'Oh I have missed you, my tower,' she said as she kissed him.
'Dalele Marinea!' Amro shouted, and his shout was taken up by all those present. Amro began tossing the precious scales of the Lightfin off of the platform and into the crowd. Each and every soul would leave that place looking forward to a much better year.
Dalta walked away slowly, his head bowed low, and his chest rising and falling slowly, as if with each breath he lifted all the weight of the world. For a moment of pride, and an hour of stubbornness, he had lost his daughter forever.
Ghastin stood just beyond the edge of the crowd, watching his great wealth vanish before his eyes. But he had never been so pleased in his life. Between Dalta's misery and Dalia's joy, he could not hold back a broad grin. 'Dalele Marinea!' he cheered - the first and last time such an exclamation would be heard from him.
The Spirits
'It is true enough,' Folly admitted. 'Any single thing can be considered the center of it all, if you so please. Though Fate be pleased to please our dear Pelas for a time, making him the center of her machinations, so also with everything else that pulls and pushes upon the world. The truth be told, the Aguians pulled upon Pelas as much as he pulled upon them, and the least of babes is as important as the mightiest of lords.'
'How goes things for Pelas now?' Sleep asked.
'He has been summoned to Ijjan's golden palace,' Folly said. 'There he will drink and feast, and tell tales so exaggerated that his own real accomplishments will scarcely be believed for the incredulity he causes in others.'
'And what of Ijjan? What of Indra? Much depends upon these two elves,' Sleep said.
'Much depends upon the worm beneath their feet, brother, but you ask not for a report concerning him.'
'I shall, brother. In due time I shall.'
Folly shook his head, but laughed, 'Very well. I shall do my very best to make it as enjoyable as I am able.'
'I have little doubt of that, brother,' Sleep said, sounding as tired as ever.
'The world is yet young, and you seem so worn out,' Folly laughed.
'The world is young, brother, but I am not.'
'I am no younger than you, but do you see me dragging my feet like an overworked mule?' Folly replied.
Sleep lifted one gray eyebrow in amusement.
Folly continued with his account, saying, 'When at last Ijjan sees the skull of the Thunder Snake, he will despair of all hope of seeing Agonas again. A miracle he can believe, but not two. That both brothers should be successful in their quests is more than he will be able to believe, and it is more than I shall permit him to believe. He will give every honor to Pelas, and the hand of Indra as well.'
Sleep sighed, sadness seeming to build within his breast.
'If I worried myself over every broken heart and every ill turn of events,' Folly said, 'I suppose I would be as world-weary as you are. Perhaps we should swit
ch places sometime.'
Sleep looked at him with such horror that he could not bring himself to continue the joke. 'You know that I jest; so there is no need for such a response. Sometimes I think you and dear brother Death are twins.'
'We are twins, brother,' Sleep said softly.
'Look on the good side of things, then,' Folly laughed. 'We shall have a fate better than these two Ilvasen!'
Sleep looked all the more miserable with this last jest. 'For me,' he explained, 'the sundering of brothers is the most lamentable of fates, and though it will never happen to me, I cannot but feel the pangs of it within me, even at the mere thought.'
'Then do as I,' Folly said with a smile. 'Think not at all; and not about anything.'
'It is not from you, then, oh teacher of the gods, that I must seek wisdom concerning that which yet confounds me,' Sleep said.
'You would seek wisdom from Folly?' Folly beamed with pride at his brother's words, not because they made him out to be wise, but because they were the closest Sleep could bring himself to making a joke.
'I would like to know how it is that he shall slay the three, when Pelas has slain one, and Agonas the other, and when neither of them can slay the Last.'
'You are trying to make sense of the prophecies!' Folly said, cooing as one coos at a baby trying their first steps. 'You are wise to look to me, then,' Folly said, 'For in a way I am the father of all prophecies. For what is a prophecy but a riddle? And who can solve it but he who would believe it? And who can believe it but a fool?'
'It also says that he must be born of Vitiai, but Vitiai has been gone now for an age.'
'Has it truly been so long?' Folly said, suddenly sounding almost serious.
'It has indeed,' Sleep answered.
'Then the world is not as young as I had thought, perhaps,' Folly considered. There was a silence for some time, but Folly broke it, saying, 'Do not trouble yourself with prophecies, brother. They are meant to make sense only when the time comes, and even then only in a manner of speaking.'
'Why should wisdom leave something of such grave importance in the hands of Folly?'
'Do you not yet know, brother,' asked Folly; his eyes glowed red for an instant - and had he been visible to mortal eyes the mere visage of him would have stilled the heart of any mortal man - 'Do you not know that you cannot have a little wisdom without a great deal of Folly?'
'I do not believe it!' Sleep said, thinking his brother was jesting once again.
'You will believe it ere the end,' Folly said, with no hint of humor or amusement in his voice.
End of Book II
Book III:
Dark Kharku