Chapter VII:
Loyal Friend
The Followers
The next morning Candor accompanied Nonix and Leai into the camp of the followers of Theodysus. They awoke at first light and were soon afterward on their way north, making their way through brush and bramble, up steep slopes and across frigid streams of clear water. All of this Leai endured without complaint. She did not seem perturbed by anything that they encountered; almost as if she had done all this a thousand times and was no longer surprised by anything.
In truth her mind was far from the forest and she walked on almost in a dream, thinking of her lost love and of her family in Esluna. It began to rain in the afternoon, and they were forced to take shelter beneath a great oak tree. There they shivered under their cloaks until the rain stopped, just several hours before the sun began to sink beyond the horizon. The sky cleared and they took it as a sign of better weather to come.
Nonix suffered through the journey bravely and silently, though it was clear by the look on his face that all this travel was not kind to his bones and joints. But he would sooner die than show any sign of weakness to Leai. He could not be as strong a protector as Stratix, but for Stratix' sake he must guard Leai at all costs. She was the last hope for their people, though he did not think that Esluna would ever exist again. Their blood could live on in her, however, if she could someday conquer her sorrow.
As the sun sank out of sight in the west, leaving the forest dark and gray, the travelers came across a length of twine, bound from tree to tree and set with bells and pans. Candor's brow furloughed. 'Surely this is not meant to be a defense!' he exclaimed aloud. 'If this is their protection, then we will not find security here.'
Leai made no answer. Security was not something she believed in any more. If Stratix could fail her, there was no longer any safe place in Bel Albor, or in all the world.
Nonix drew up alongside him and looked at the twine. 'It would give them a few moments - enough perhaps for their women and children to flee.'
Candor sniffed the air carefully. 'There is something cooking at least,' he said. 'We may not need to hunt after all.'
He stepped over the twine and walked quietly toward the northeast. The others followed him along a small trail until several tents came within sight. Suddenly four young men leaped out with short swords pointing nervously at them. So harmless did they appear before the old warrior Nonix and the deadly Black Adder that even Leai did not seem to fear them. 'Young man,' Nonix said confidently. 'We are not enemies.'
'Are you god-hunters?' one of the young men asked nervously.
'If we were, do you think we would have come upon you in this manner?' Nonix asked.
'If we were god-hunters,' Candor added, looking at their defenses, 'you would already be dead.'
'There are worse fates,' the youth answered quickly, but nervously.
'Who are you?' Nonix asked.
'We are of Theodysus,' the youth answered, 'I am Yulin.'
'Well, Yulin,' Nonix said firmly, 'if you are not the leader here, then I ask that you bring me to someone who can deal with us.'
This stern and forward tone seemed to shake the young man more than he had already been shaken. He looked back and forth between the strangers several times before running off to the east toward a group of tents.
The camp of the followers of Theodysus sprawled through the forest without any sense of intention. It was almost as if the people had walked until they were exhausted and then dropped their tents where they lay. None of the tents were of the same make, though some were of the same material. Some were simply cloth sheets tied to the ground with a fallen tree for a spine. Others seemed large enough to fit whole families, and some even seemed to have been made by craftsmen. A couple tents were of the sort the Sunlan soldiers used when they were sent far from Centan.
In a short time a tall man of about thirty appeared, wearing a long brown robe, followed by a man of average height and about the same age in a plain white shirt and brown trousers. At the side of the latter man hung a long hunting knife and in his hand was a staff. The first man had a long knife in his hand. Candor eyed them both cautiously.
'You need not fear us, Candor Proud,' the shorter man said in a kind voice. 'We do not seek rewards, but that does not stop us from giving them when they are due. You are welcome in this camp.' He spread his arms wide as if to show that everything in sight belonged to the new visitors.
Candor's brows came to a point as he considered this strange man and his even stranger words. A very small part of him thought he should draw out his Firesling and make an end of this man and as many of his strange followers as he could. For some reason he thought that this was precisely what the Tower would want of him. But even as he considered this course of action he began to feel as though he would not be able to do it. This latter thought troubled him greatly. How the man knew his name was beyond his reckoning.
While he pondered these things the man turned his attention to Nonix and said, 'You are welcome here as well, Nonix and Leai; the sorrows of Esluna follow you here, and we will help you bear the burden thereof. We cannot change what has happened. Be comforted, though, for although time will fail to remove them, there is one who is able to remove even time.'
'I don't,' Candor began, before Nonix could speak. 'I don't understand. How do you know my name? Who are you?'
The man extended his palm toward Candor and said, 'I am Theodysus.'
Candor shook his head, 'Why should I be deserving of any honor from you?'
'It was you that freed me from Morarta,' Theodysus replied. 'The good that will come, will come; but blessed is he who brings it.'
'These men are not of us?' the taller man protested.
'Fret not, Hearthon,' Theodysus said with a smile. 'it is those who are not of us who must be brought in. Otherwise, what do we do here?'
Theodysus turned once more to Candor and spoke, 'Keep your eyes open, friend. What has been seen has been seen, and be it whatsoever you will, there is no compulsion laid upon the future.'
The two men then turned and walked back toward the center of the camp, if any portion of it could truly be called the center. Hearthon followed hard upon Theodysus' steps as if he were ready to do as he was commanded at any moment. He did not quite seem happy about it, however.
Loyal's Tale
Candor and the others were brought a cloth tent and some rope and told that they could set their tent wherever they pleased. 'You will be safe here,' Yulin assured them as he handed them a sack full of dried fruit and meat.
Candor looked at him and could not suppress a laugh.
Nonix took to setting up the tent almost as soon as Yulin had left them. Leai hungrily took hold of the sack and started digging through the food. She took up an apple and took a bite, holding it in her teeth while she took more food out. She handed a bright red apple to Candor with a smile.
'What will they expect of us, I wonder?' Nonix said, mirroring Candor's suspicions.
'Something,' Candor answered. 'You can count on it.'
Leai took another bite and laughed at their suspicions. Nonix smiled too; he would keep his eyes open, but it was good to see her in a happy spirit for once.
When they had finished setting up a small camp they were approached by a group of six young maidens, who asked for 'the girl' and brought Leai away to be washed and fed properly. 'You men can eat out of the sack,' they laughed merrily.
'What madness rules over this camp?' Candor said to the older man. 'I have not seen its like before.'
'Neither have I,' Nonix affirmed. 'My father used to take me to the market fair in Esluna every summer. He showed me many things that were sold for copper coins, but every one of them was worth less than that. Things are not always as they seem; but if they seem to be too good a bargain, then they are just the opposite. You will pay in the end.'
'Wise counsel,' Candor said.
Some time later the girls returned with Leai
, dressed in a plain brown dress without any tatters or rips. Her hair had been combed and her beauty shone out of her plain attire like a star in the black night sky. Candor could scarcely keep his eyes off of her face, but when he saw Nonix watching him he made as if he were staring at something beyond her. Indeed, at that very moment he saw someone that he recognized.
'Loyal?' he said, rising from his seat. Leai looked at him in confusion for a moment until she realized that he was speaking to another.
The man who approached them wore a bright white shirt and plain grey pants. His hair was grown long and he had the beginnings of a beard upon his chin. Candor realized as he approached that he had misstepped, speaking his name and revealing that they were acquaintances. But nothing about Loyal's demeanor even hinted that he had made any kind of mistake.
'Candor Proud,' Loyal said, a tear built up in his eye and he fought to contain it. 'You ride upon a black steed, my brother.'
Candor looked at him with confusion and alarm. 'Loyal,' he began, 'what happened? No, we must speak elsewhere. But how are you?'
'I am good,' he said with a grin, 'but I am not always doing good.' He laughed.
Candor wanted to ask him why he said he rode upon a black steed - among the Lapulians this was an expression that meant 'death-bringer'. This could only mean that Loyal had abandoned his mission entirely. But that was something he could not accept - not until he had spoken with Loyal openly.
'We MUST speak, brother,' Candor said, working hard to get that last word to sound natural.
Loyal's face turned grim for a moment and a shadow seemed to pass over his otherwise happy demeanor. He shut his eyes and nodded, breathing carefully through his nostrils. 'Very well,' he said. 'I had hoped,' he began to say, but he seemed to change his mind. 'I, I understand. Learning is not a miracle; you cannot become a master before you are a pupil. I understand.'
This only confused Candor more. He spread his arm out toward the west, indicating that it was time for them to speak. The fire in his eyes showed that it was urgent.
Loyal smiled and said, 'Of course.' But however much he seemed to indicate that he understood, he did not seem to be treating this as Tower business at all. Anything that had to do with the Black Adder, the Magic Tower or Lapulia general was important, and not something to smile at. 'What happened to you, Loyal?' he wanted to ask.
The two started in to the western woods, heading toward the string fence that 'protected' the whole encampment. Before Loyal left the others he turned and looked Leai in the eyes, the tear dripped down his cheek, having won the battle against his resolve. He said in a loud voice, 'Do not expect to see me again. I have business in another land, and I must leave this place at once. I should have liked to know all of you. Perhaps we will meet again.'
'Farewell,' Leai said with surprise. 'I hope we shall meet again,' she repeated this politely, though she was not entirely certain that she spoke the truth.
Nonix nodded and watched the man suspiciously. 'Everything is strange with these people,' he muttered when they had left.
'Where is the Star Seer?' Candor asked firmly when at last they were well away from the camp.
'Be my friend for a moment, Candor Proud,' Loyal said, pleading as he brushed his long hair out of his face. He sat weakly upon a log and looked up at his fellow Black Adder. 'Just for a moment, at least. I shall be your friend forever, Candor, no matter what comes to pass.'
There was an unmistakable pain in Loyal's eyes, but also a clarity and resolve.
'I am your friend,' Candor said, his voice wavering with emotion. He did not expect to feel this way at all. He was slowly coming to believe that he would have to kill his friend. His body stood still and tense, like a cat prepared to pounce upon its prey.
Loyal looked nervous, but he managed to drive away fear somehow. This made Candor all the more cautious, since a Black Adder who looked at ease was very rarely what he appeared to be.
'Tell me what happened,' Candor said.
Loyal looked at his feet for a moment, and then looked up at Candor, 'The Star Seer predicted the fall of the Tower, Candor.'
Candor stepped back in amazement at those words. It was not as though this had never happened before, but it was usually given as a warning, and not as a prediction. 'What do you mean? What did he recommend?'
'Resignation,' Loyal answered with a shrug. 'There is nothing that can be done.'
Candor's face grew pale as he thought about the end of the Magic Tower, which in his mind at least, had been the protector of humanity for many ages. He was also filled with fear because of the ancient prophecy that it would be someone in his own family that would bring about this destruction.
'Is this why the Star Seer fell silent? If you killed him for speaking against the Tower, why did you not return?' Candor asked, as if he were asking about the cost of raising pigs.
'I did not kill him, Candor,' Loyal said, as if he were revealing something quite shameful. 'He is alive and well, for now - at least, he is as well as one in his state can be.'
'What happened to the others? What happened to the other Black Adder? Fervor Shenn and Grent Honor were with you, were they not?'
'They were,' he said coldly.
'Loyal, tell me what happened,' Candor pleaded. 'I am your friend.'
Loyal looked at him doubtfully, but answered, 'I know, Candor. But that does not change what you are - what WE are.'
'What are we?' Candor asked.
'We are men, Candor,' Loyal replied slowly. 'But we were raised Black Adder. I know what that means.'
'You are still speaking nonsense, brother,' Candor said with frustration. 'Have these fanatics taught your tongue to spin like a top?'
Loyal sniffed, 'You are not far from the truth; but you are not close enough, yet.'
'Then tell me, Loyal. What is happening here?' Candor's voice was very nearly pleading.
'Before we fell silent, we sent several messages to the Magic Tower. I apprehend that those messages and our pursuant silence is what brought you to the north. But we could not send any more messages, for we knew that it would mean our deaths. We were not quite afraid of this, however. The Black Adder do not fear Death, as you know.'
'But what happened to the others? To Fervor and Grent?' Candor interrupted.
'I speak as if we were all of one accord in this matter, Candor,' he said gravely. 'But I was opposed to their decision, and our opposition grew to be more than a disagreement of words. We came to blows, and I slew them both.'
Candor's eyes widened and for a moment he was hopeful that this meant that his friend had not in fact abandoned the designs of the Tower. It was not unacceptable, after all, for a Black Adder to hide themselves by assuming the customs and professions of those among whom they dwelt.
But Loyal continued, 'That is how I felt at first. But when it came to the Star Seer, I could no longer bear my knives in my hand. I could not kill him, though it was what the Tower desired and though it would have been a favor to him.'
'Why not?' Candor asked in amazement. The Black Adder were expected to be able to kill their own parents on a whim if it were asked of them by the Tower. The survival of mankind's protector was more important than any single human life.
'Because the blade seemed to burn in my hand, and whatever the cause, I could not wield my knives again, except to hunt or to work.'
'What else did the Star Seer say?' Candor asked nervously.
'He spoke of the unmaking of the Dragon,' Loyal said.
'Thaeton?' Candor asked incredulously. 'But that is only a legend!'
'That is why he must be unmade, Candor,' Loyal answered quickly. 'Not all myths are false, brother. And no falsehood is powerless over he who hearkens to it.'
'What else did he say?' Candor said, his hands now moving slowly toward his knives.
'He said what has been said before, Candor, that your kin would conspire against the Tower, and overthrow it. That through the family of Captain Proud wo
uld come the salvation and destruction of the Magic City of Lapulia. He spoke of flying devils and a sickly wind. He spoke of the end of all things. But not yet. There is another age of the world that must pass first.'
'Then what help are these things to us, who shall not live to see them?'
'Do not look to prophecies to see what will come to pass. For surely, they will come to pass only for those who live to see them. Look to see what the prophet has seen. That is where the truth will lie.'
'What has this,' Candor stumbled over the word, 'prophet seen?'
'He has seen Theodysus shining like the stars of heaven. He has seen it in the stars themselves, and felt it in the wind.'
'I will not act against the Tower, Loyal,' Candor said, his nostrils beginning to flare with rage. 'I do not know what has bewitched you, but you have forsaken us. You have betrayed us all!'
'I have given them no secrets,' Loyal said defensively, but unafraid. 'They know nothing of the Magic City and its plots and plans. Only Theodysus knows about the Star Seer.'
'You spoke of the Star Seer!?' Candor said in horror. To speak of those sorry agents of the Magi to a stranger was a crime punishable by death. His hand drew nearer to his knives.
'You are not yet ready to accept your destiny, Candor,' Loyal said sorrowfully. 'But that does not alter it. I was not able to accept it either, and therefore I have the blood of our countrymen upon my hands. I have too much blood upon my hands.' Loyal looked sadly upon his fingers as if the blood were truly still there upon his palm.
'You know that I cannot ignore this,' Candor said fiercely.
'I know, and I accept it. But listen to me Candor,' Loyal said firmly. 'I forgive you. I forgive you for what you must do. Know that; it will pain you for a time, but let time heal you. I forgive you.'
Candor stepped back, ready to leap at any moment. But before he attacked Loyal said, 'One last thing, Candor.' He raised his finger, pleading for another moment.
Candor looked at him coldly, all signs of friendship seemed to have bled from his face.
'By my words I have accused the Star Seer, but no man of Lapulia should be slain without either a direct order from the High Mage or one of the Black Adder, or without the slayer having heard the confession himself. Speak with him before you strike. You owe him that much according to the laws of our city.'
'My city,' Candor hissed, his fingers shaking with rage.
He leaped forward, throwing his knife straight at Loyal's heart.
But Loyal rolled aside and caught the knife in his hand, raising it just in time to block Candor's next blow.
Candor looked at him in amazement for an instant, and then redoubled his efforts. He had truly started to believe that Loyal was just going to let him kill him without a struggle. Candor struck at him again and Loyal grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulders, but Candor took hold of his head as he flew and pulled Loyal to the ground with him. There upon the dirt and rotting leaves they grappled, Candor trying desperately to find a home for his blade.
Loyal grabbed Candor's throat and flung him onto his stomach, twisting his arm behind his back. He put his knife to Candor's throat and said, 'I have done this, brother, so that you will know that my life is truly given to you. I have the power to keep it, yet I give it up so that you might live.'
Candor struggled in vain against his old friend, trying with all his might to free himself and make an end of this enemy of Lapulia. But in the end he could do nothing. Tears threatened to drop from his eyes as everything from Leai's beauty and the child in Evnai Port, to Morarta and the god-hunters passed through his mind in a flash.
Loyal rose to his feet and threw the dagger to the ground where its point stuck just between Candor's first and second fingers. 'Remember, Candor Proud,' Loyal said tearfully. 'I forgive you.'
Candor did not even remember striking. He was so filled with wrath and rage that he lost all sense of where he was or what he was doing. But in an instant Loyal lay dead upon the ground, his blood spilling out from a clean and deep wound in his throat.
Candor shook and stormed away, tears streaming from his face.
It was not at all like a Black Adder to weep, but he was not entirely certain that he was worthy to be a Black Adder after all that had hitherto transpired. He had blundered in Evnai, he had blundered in Morarta and he had blundered in taking up with the refugees of Esluna. 'Poison!' he spat as he thundered back to the camp. He would not make any more mistakes. He would find the Star Seer and kill him. The law may require him to listen to the sad creature's defense, but there was no excuse for what the Seer had done - regardless of the answer he would kill him. Then he would simply vanish, and never see or be seen by these stupid, superstitious fools again. The beauty of Leai's eyes flashed in his mind for a moment, weakening his resolve. 'Poison!'
In his heart there were equal parts sorrow and anger, and he fought with everything within his being to make the anger win out.
The Star Seer
By the time Candor had returned to the camp of Theodysus, stepping over their alarm without giving it a second thought, it was very nearly dark. 'Is that why you said farewell?' he thought to himself, remembering Loyal's words. 'Did he know what was going to happen when we left?' He was a Black Adder too, Candor remembered; he certainly must have known.
He did not seek out Nonix and Leai, however. He would not be good company in his current state of mind, and he was starting to fear Leai's beauty as if it truly were a poison. He was also afraid that the enchantment it seemed to have over him would so frustrate him that he would feel compelled to harm her. 'Poison, indeed,' he thought bitterly. He had not meant to allow anything to get between he and his devotion to the Tower. But there he was, torn between the last, best hope for mankind's safety and survival and a pair of dark brown eyes. He shut his eyes and thought back to his time in Lapulia's Tower and all that he had learned therein. He fell into a deep and troubled sleep, but awoke when he heard the voice of the man called Theodysus saying, 'It is only the truly guilty who can be forgiven.'
He awoke with a start to find that it was already mid-day. He looked about and saw that the camp had been abandoned first thing in the morning. The tent where Leai and Nonix had slept was gone, but Leai was still nearby, now dressed in a plain white dress with a dark green belt tied about her waist. She was seated upon a fallen tree and seemed to be waiting patiently for something - Candor guessed that she was waiting for Nonix.
Candor rose as if taken by a spell and walked over to her. A small voice within him seemed to be screaming that he should kill her before she destroys him. But instead he sat beside her and said, 'You look, beautiful today.'
She looked down at the ground and said, 'You are very kind.'
He shook himself as if he were waking from slumber a second time. 'Where is everyone?' he asked, trying to pretend that he had not just said what he seemed to recall saying. He looked doubtfully at his hands and suddenly thought that he knew how Loyal had felt. His hands were unworthy even to be in the presence of such a beautiful creature, he thought.
'The camp has moved on,' she said quietly. 'We were waiting for you to return. Nonix did not- We did not think it would be right to leave you behind.'
'You are very kind,' he said, repeating her words.
'How is your friend?' she asked, her innocence burning a hole in his heart.
'He is gone,' Candor said, unable to stomach a lie on top of everything else that had happened.
'It is a pity,' she said. 'He seemed to be a very kind man.'
'Kind?' Candor said, thinking about what he and Loyal had been trained to do and to be. 'Yes,' he said as he considered the way his friend had died. 'He was kind.'
'Where is the old man?' Candor said, remembering that these fools were not his friends - his only friend was Lapulia.
'He will be back shortly,' Leai answered, and almost as if in response to his question they heard Nonix coming, stamping through the woods c
arelessly.
After exchanging a word of greeting the three of them turned toward the north and, hoisting their bundles over their shoulders, followed the trail left by the followers of Theodysus.
Candor's mind, however, was resting upon the Star Seer, and it was, in truth, the Seer toward which he walked.
'Shall we follow these people? Will we remain with them?' Leai asked, sounding somewhat hopeful.
'Our road is his road, for now at least,' Candor said, referring to Theodysus.
'But what of our destination?' Nonix asked him. Something in the old man's eye alarmed Candor. It was almost as though he suspected that something had changed in Candor, though the Black Adder was doing his best to conceal it.
'I do not know my destination,' Candor lied, feeling miserable for the untruth. 'Since when have I ever had difficulty lying?' he whispered to himself. What had Loyal done to him?
It was not long before they were making their way through the forest, following the trampled leaves and broken brush that marked the followers of Theodysus. They were not great woodsmen, leaving a trail along which a blind man might have felt his way without too much difficulty.
Soon the soft forest floor began to be littered with stones and boulders and the land grew steep and rough. By the time they stopped for the evening they noticed that the trees were beginning to thin, finding less soil in which to sink their roots. The air also grew colder, and a bitter wind blew down from the northern mountains.
'Is this truly where men first lived?' Leai asked.
Nonix nodded as he began to set up their tent.
'There were men elsewhere,' Candor said coldly, not caring for their superstitious legends. 'There are lands beyond the seas,' he said without emotion, 'where men lived and dwelt before anyone sailed south from Bel Albor.'
'But where did they come from?' Leai asked him, 'and how do you know this?'
Candor did not answer, he just shrugged and began helping Nonix with the tent.
The mood was unpleasant for the rest of that evening, and for most of the day that followed. For bunglers, Candor admitted to himself, the camp of Theodysus made good time through these rough lands.
Candor's mood did not improve at all that night, and he was short with Nonix and even with Leai. Her beauty drove thoughts of love and passion into his mind, and made him all the more bitter toward her. By the time night fell they were hardly able to look at one another.
Soon the trees vanished altogether and they found themselves climbing a steep rock slope littered with loose pebbles and stones, any one of which might slip beneath their feet and send them sliding down the rock face back toward the forest. There were a few places where they could see the dark stains where Theodysus' careless followers had scraped themselves. Nonix and his sore joints barely made it up the rock, but Candor made the climb with ease, helping Leai at the more difficult points. She thanked him, but it was plain that she would rather have kind words from him than what help he gave upon the rocks. 'I should be thankful he has not cast me to the bottom with the way he has been acting since we came to the people of Theodysus,' she thought to herself sadly.
After they reached the top of this rock they wound their way through the mountains, following the footsteps and refuse of the others, slowly coming to the top of a small mountain. From where they stood they could see the whole northern region of Bel Albor stretching out before them - the land that had once belonged to a man named Athann and his wife Mainalann, when mankind was yet young, before even Mount Vitiai was settled.
Darkness soon overtook them, and they found themselves looking up at a star filled sky. Nonix did not bother making a tent that night. There would be no rain, and the wind had become still as the evening approached. Candor lay down a few paces from the fire, putting a rock between his back and his fellow travelers. Nonix cooked a small stew over a fire with a few herbs and some dried meat. Candor refused to eat from their supplies. He did not owe them anything, and he did not mean to find himself indebted to them for any kindnesses.
'Do the stars truly speak?' Leai asked with wonder as she gazed upon a sky more brightly lit than any she had ever seen before.
'I do not think so,' Nonix sighed. 'I think we speak to them.'
Candor sniffed and pulled his cloak over his face.
He woke what seemed only a few moments later, surprised that he had even fallen asleep. But he was disoriented enough in that instant to recognize that he had just come from a dream. He awoke to the sound of Leai screaming. She screamed as though she were being torn to pieces by a beast, but when Candor reached her, carrying a sharp knife in both fists, he saw that she was safe.
Her eyes were fixed upon a small, broken-down stone table. It stood out upon the mountain the lone work of man to be seen for many leagues. Nature did not make that perfectly square object, and neither did nature make that which lay upon it.
Pale grey skin, wide, lidless eyes held forever open by thick pieces of glass, shriveled limbs and knotted dead toes and fingers, bound to the stone by rusted and broken chains, there lay the Star Seer of Bel Albor, crippled and in agony, but never taking its gaze from the heavens. Candor had seen the Star Seer of Lapulia, a well-fed, well-cared for and jovial creature who received whatsoever comfort it requested. But this was like nothing he had seen before. He finally understood why the ancient Mage who had created them was slain so shamefully and why his methods were abolished and forbidden in a city where nothing useful was ever discarded or prohibited.
He grew angry looking upon the creature. For a moment he thought that he should just end its life that instant, whether it had a defense for its rebellion or not.
'What is it?' Leai asked in terror. To her eyes it was some sort of devil or monstrosity, and there was very little Candor could do to comfort her.
Nonix appeared a few moments later and muttered, 'By all the gods! What is this devil?'
Though Candor knew that it was his mission to slay this creature, some part of him took offense at their revulsion. He could not lie about the creature, though, and thereby add the distaste of dishonesty to the sorrows of the creature.
'It is a Star Seer,' Candor said, looking at Leai for a moment. 'He listens to what the stars have to say to us.'
Nonix and Leai looked at him with amazement, both of their eyes opened wide. 'Who are you?' Leai asked, her voice filled with fear and suspicion.
'I am a devil and a shadow,' he said coldly. 'You had better leave; for this is what I have come to Bel Albor to do, to kill this creature.'
Nonix moved his hand to his sword hilt, but Candor shook his head. 'You are a brave warrior, old man,' he said. 'But I am a Black Adder of Lapulia; you cannot win. If I wished to kill you or the girl, you would both be dead already. If you attempt to hinder me, then I will kill you both.'
Leai broke the silence, asking, 'You are a man, Candor Proud, and no devil. I am sorry for you and for your blindness.'
Before any response could be made, however, there rose a murmur and a labored whisper from the Star Seer himself.
'Eslunana,' he said in a hoarse whisper, 'Do not trouble yourselves for me. I have seen the bearer of the Hidden Name, and I need nothing more. The seed is sown, the Tower will fall. Do not worry or trouble yourselves over me. No man can receive the hidden wisdom until it is revealed, and he cannot believe until he has been broken. There is nothing that you can do that will change what will happen. Go on, therefore, and comfort yourselves among the Enthedu. Seek out those who will be scattered. Many men and women will wander these mountains, hungry and frightened ere the end. Go, and be prepared to help them.'
Nonix removed his hand from his blade and took Leai firmly by the arm. 'Let us go,' he said. 'This is a matter that is beyond our knowledge.'
With those words they gathered their belongings and departed, passing under the light of the stars from the mountain along a gentle northward slope of stone. At the bottom of this they found the path of Theodysus and took up
the pursuit.
Candor watched them for a time and when they had passed beyond hearing he turned to the Star Seer.
'What have you to say, honored one of Lapulia?' Candor asked formally.
'I have lived more lifetimes than even the elves,' the Star Seer said with a croak, 'do not insult my honor with formalities, as if I of all men did not know what you have come to do, and that there is nothing I can say that would stay your hand.'
'Then I may take that as your confession of your crimes?' Candor asked, hoping to be done with this whole matter.
'My only crime is that I have spoken the truth,' the Seer answered. 'I have watched these skies for thousands of years, and all calculations have brought me to this: from Theodysus shall rise the ones who will, with words, bring an end to the Magic Tower.'
'With words?' Candor said incredulously. 'What can be done about it? How can this be prevented? Lapulia has not maintained and preserved the Star Seers through all these ages for knowledge, but rather for aid. Help us now, who have for all these years guarded and fed your flesh.'
'The old word that I sent to Lapulia in the days of your forefather spoke also of Lapulia's salvation. I have not betrayed the city of my birth, nor the children of my kinsmen - I am Lapulian as you are, and I was once, as you are yet, a human. Nay, I am still human.'
'But you have not told us what must be done!' Candor protested. If from Theodysus this destruction will come upon the Magic City, then you know what I must do. Why don't you speak it then?'
'You must kill Theodysus, and make an end of him before he unmakes the Dragon,' the Star Seer said with a laugh. 'If you think that you can do this than you are truly a son of Theaton. But just as men are born from words, so also can they be reborn thereby. Go to the north; follow after Theodysus, and you will learn better, and then you will no longer be the son of the Dragon.'
'I will go to the north, as you have said,' Candor answered. 'Have you any further defense to make for yourself?'
'I have not spoken anything but the truth,' the Seer replied.