Chapter X:
The Dark Order
Thure
Xan could do nothing but weep when at last he came within sight of the ruined village of Thure. Every building was burned and every house destroyed. There was nothing remaining. Whoever had attacked did not plunder Thure, however. All their gold and silver, such as they had, remained. But the people themselves lay upon the ground in blackened heaps. When Xan asked the Sparkans about what had happened he was told only that it was the Shadowfolk.
He found no trace whatsoever of his son. Everyone else in the village, with the exception of a few of the smaller children, were accounted for, though some he could not recognize beyond knowing simply that they were too tall or too short to be his son.
'Come with us to the North,' Agonas said. 'The Sesana are now your enemies, and your kin are no more.'
Xan said nothing, however, but returned to Thure and lay down among the charred ruins of his old home and wept for several nights.
In the end he agreed to travel north. There was nothing more he could do or learn in Thure, and with a heavy heart he abandoned his home to start his life anew in the Far North. He bid his village farewell, and turned his attention to the coming journey.
Though Agonas had met with success at an earlier time than his brother, he had no ship at his disposal, and he moreover had the challenge of finding transport for the dwarves into the north as well. There were not many ports in Kharku in those days, and in the end they were forced to sell almost everything that could be gathered from the ruins of Thure and the greater portion of the Sparkans' belongings in order to build and outfit enough ships to carry them all to Bel Albor.
It was not until the first day of Indest in the third year since he had departed from Sunlan that his newly built fleet found its way back to Evnai Port. He did not, however, receive anything like the welcome he expected.
The Dockmaster
The sky was covered with clouds on the night that Agonas returned to Sunlan. All was quiet in Evnai Port as his fleet of ships approached. Every last man, woman and child from Sparka was brought along with them, and promised places of honor in Sunlan. The dwarves, however, would be content with seclusion. So long as they were given a place of their own, and not compelled to live alongside the elves or men of Sunlan they would be pleased.
A ship was sent out to meet them, but when the sailors saw who it was who drew near their faces turned white and their voices were filled with terror. 'Were I an enemy I should have expected no less joy at my coming,' Agonas said coldly. Something was not right in Sunlan.
The sailors allowed them to pass with no trouble, though, and soon Agonas found himself stepping across a wooden plank onto the docks of Evnai. It was a cold and bitter night, with a harsh wind that roared over the city from the sea. The Dockmaster looked at Agonas as though it was he who had brought the chill.
'My lord,' he said fearfully. 'I am, amazed to see that you have returned.'
'Has my brother returned?' Agonas asked flatly, ignoring the other man's trepidation.
'He has,' the man replied with a tremor in his voice. 'Some time ago he has.'
'Is he well?' Agonas asked. 'Has he had good fortune?'
The Dockmaster could not prevent his eyes from darting about; it almost seemed as though he were seeking a way of escape. 'He is well enough,' the man said. 'He brought to Sunlan the jaw of the Thunder Snake nigh on four months ago. It was quite an event, my lord.' The man did not know how he was expected to speak or act. He spoke of Agonas' brother, but it seemed as though a hatred grew in the elf's eyes as he spoke of Pelas' accomplishments.
'Where is he now?' Agonas asked. 'I must speak with him as soon as possible. Is he still master of Evnai's fleets?'
'He is not here,' the man said, stepping backward.
Agonas drew himself closer and looked into the man's eyes carefully. 'What is it that so troubles you? I have returned with great success as well. The Beast of the Earth is dead. I have brought one of his teeth as a token of my success. Now where is my brother?' His tone was demanding, and the Dockmaster could say nothing but the truth. 'He feasts in Sunlan this night,' he answered weakly. 'For in three days he is to wed Indra, the daughter of Ijjan.'
Agonas looked at the man in astonishment. Then a rage boiled over him and he drew his blade. 'Do you think that I know not the parentage of fair Indra of Sunlan? Do you think you need tell me who is her father?' That was not truly the cause of his anger, of course.
'Please, my lord, I meant no offense,' the man begged, staring fearfully at the naked dwarf-wrought sword of Agonas. Approaching behind Agonas the Dockmaster now saw several stunted forms come walking across the wooden plank. If one had thought that the terrified Dockmaster could not have been more afraid, they would have been proven wrong when he saw the stream of Sparkan warriors disembarking from the ship.
'Fas'Ereg,' Agonas said to the first of them, 'are your warriors strong?'
'They are,' Fas answered, balancing his great axe over his shoulder.
'Dockmaster,' Agonas said, turning his attention to the cowering man before him. 'I have a message to give to all of Sunlan. I bring news; if you value your life you will spread it to every corner and every valley of Sunlan at once. Send your fastest riders. Let them ride their beasts to death if they must, but by all means send word to the people of Sunlan that the throne of Parganas is empty in Alwan.'
'What do you mean? I do not understand,' the Dockmaster said confusedly.
'It is not for you to understand,' Agonas answered sharply, 'Send the message at once.'
At these words the Dockmaster turned and fled.
The Dark Order
Riders were sent out to every corner of Sunlan, and to every high elf, but only those who had been chosen by Agonas knew the meaning of this strange message. When Pelas heard the news, he was greatly confused. He thought it was more likely a baseless rumor than truth, however. But to Dalta and Thuruvis in Centan, they knew it at once to be the Dark Order, which, when given, signified that the time to overthrow Sunlan was upon them.
Among the High Elves only Falruvis, Bralohi, Cheru, Oblis and Ginat were left without understanding. All of the others knew at once that the time had come to fulfill the purpose for which they had long ago forsaken the Kingdom of Ilvas. Even Sol and Kolohi were prepared to do as Agonas had commanded. Though they were faithful to Pelas, they considered their actions to be for his sake, since it was long ago established that Pelas would come to the throne.
The Dark Order was, in truth, a desperate plan, and one that Agonas reserved only for the most hopeless of moments. In his mind it would serve at the very most as a final blow against his enemies, a blow of spite and not a blow for victory. It would leave him a legacy of infamy, but he did not truly think that it would bring him the throne.
But the coming of the Sparkans changed all of that, and under the cover of darkness the dwarf warriors, each armed with weapons of great might and armor unbreakable, marched through Evnai and made their way swiftly over the many leagues between the coast and the city of Centan. By the time they arrived in Centan they were met by an army of men and elves coming from the Nook, the birthplace of the Midthalon River. Centan fell within hours, as it had was besieged from without by many elves and dwarves and also from within by those commanded by Amro and Ghastin.
Dalta, Thuruvis and most of the other high elves were in Sunlan Palace when they received the order, and they prepared their allies at once.
Sol marched down from the northern coast of Sunlan with a great host of mercenaries and elves of Thedua. As soon as Evnai realized what the dwarves and their master Agonas were determined to do they shut their gates and prepared their armies to march west toward Centan. But Sol constrained them, and after a brief siege, the city fell into his hands.
In Sunlan the news came while most of the palace was deep in wine-wrought slumber. The preparations for the marriage of princess Indra involved a great deal of cel
ebration, and celebration always seems to involve a great deal of carelessness. So the guards of Sunlan were not prepared for what came that night. If the attack had come from the west, then their western defenses would have held, as they were ever sober and ready for battle with Alwan. But that the danger would come, not only from the east, but from within the palace walls was something they never expected. The long years that the elves of Ilvas served them had brought many of them into important positions both in the military and even in the palace guard.
On the last night of Fuehas, Lord Pelas went to bed full and drunk, slumbering peacefully as he dreamed of the day that would come. But some hours before the dawn he awoke, frightened to hear, not the sound of bells and trumpets, but of horns and clashing steel.
The Throne of Sunlan
Pelas dressed quickly and took his sword in his hand. The fear that had come over him drove all remnant of drunkenness from his body. He gently pushed open the door to his bedroom and looked about the palace halls. He had dwelt in Sunlan Palace for several months now, as the preparations for his wedding were being made. Ijjan seemed eager to marry him to Indra, thinking it would make his loyalty run all the deeper.
There was neither sound nor soul to be found in the halls as he made his way toward the Main Hall of the Palace. Here and there he saw dead palace guards lying in pools of blood, seemingly slain before they were given warning. None of them had so much as drawn their swords ere Death took them.
Every torch in the palace was lit, but there did not seem to be anyone in the halls. He turned aside and pushed open the door to one of the guest rooms. There, lying in a pool of blood, was one of the Sunlan nobility - a man whose name Pelas could not recall. 'Is this the work of Parganas?' Pelas asked in horror. 'Has he come for the throne himself?' He quietly shut the door, leaving the man in his sad condition. He walked upon his toes, silently making his way to the throne room of Sunlan. 'Where are all of the guards? How could this happen?'
For a moment he thought that Parganas had really come to Sunlan. When he pushed open the doors to the throne room he saw, much to his horror, a dark and powerful man seated upon the throne where the fair and noble Ijjan normally reclined. To his yet sleep encumbered eyes it truly did, for an instant, look like his father Parganas. But as he approached the man's features became clear.
'Agonas?' he said weakly, squinting in the torchlight, his whole body trembling in disbelief. For a moment he was filled with rage to see his brother seated upon the throne. But his amazement and terror were greater than his ambition at that moment.
'I thought you were dead, brother,' Pelas said, the fear threatening to choke his voice.
'And I thought you were dead also, brother,' Agonas said without any change in his expressionless face. 'For when I heard that Pelas was, on the morrow, to wed Indra, the daughter of Ijjan, I knew that it could not be he who had sworn that Indra should be mine.'
'And you swore too,' Pelas said, regaining some of his confidence, 'You swore that the throne and kingdom would belong to me.'
'I swore indeed,' Agonas said. 'But I swore it to my brother Pelas. This oath breaker I know not, nor have I sworn anything to him.'
'But you just called me brother, Agonas!' Pelas protested.
'For the last time, Lord Pelas,' Agonas retorted.
'There is yet time, brother,' Pelas pleaded, not knowing that for him also it was the last time that word would be used in reference to Agonas. 'I am not wed to Indra; she is yours - you can have her.'
'I wish not to HAVE her,' Agonas thundered. 'I loved her - I love her. But now love is quite beyond my grasp. Do you think that she would love the one who slew her father?' As he said it he lifted from from his side the head of Ijjan, King of Sunlan.
'The gods!' Pelas said, his eyes wide with horror. 'What have you done, Agonas!?'
'I have done the will of Lord Parganas, and Sunlan is taken. I have seated myself upon the throne, and by rights the Kingdom of Alwan is mine as well.'
Pelas said nothing, he just stared in amazement at the dead face of his former master. He did not regret that the elf was dead. In his heart he was filled with envy that it was not his hand that clutched the dead king by the hair.
'Be gone from this land, Pelas, son of Aedanla,' Agonas said regally. 'Alwan is yours as promised. Return to your father's house and claim your prize. But Sunlan belongs to me; I have taken it, and I will not share it with an oath breaker.
Pelas then departed from Sunlan, his face covered with tears and his heart burning with rage. The reassurances of his mother returned to his mind in that hour. The rage that swelled up within him pained him beyond all sense or reason, and he then truly began to see himself as a god. A god that would someday visit wrath upon his enemy - upon Agonas. For he was an immortal, after all, and Time itself was a servant to him and not his master.
'If there is not a hell, Agonas,' he swore in that hour, 'then I myself shall create one for you.'
End of Book III
Book IV:
The Hidden Wisdom