Chapter VII:
Noro the Hero
The Proposal
A month had passed since the Enthedu departed from Anatheda. They had made their way quickly into the south, paying what tribute they were compelled to pay, and trading what goods they could among the people of Alwan. They came at last to the shores of the Great Lake, where Nihls once again visited the tomb of his old teacher. There they settled for a time, and continued to grow and to increase in number. Meidi took ill shortly after they left Anatheda, however, and Nihls would have returned had she not so strongly objected to the very thought. 'I cannot return there,' she said, sounding for all he could tell as though she meant that she could not ever go back.
They made their way south along gentle roads, stopping whenever Nihls felt it was necessary, once coming within sight of the palace of Alwan itself. Nihls avoided the city, however, and they passed across the enormous farmland that stretched out between Lord Pelas' city and the lake. They traded skins and bone-carved tools from Anatheda for grain and preserved fruit, both of which would sell well enough in the south. Nihls insisted that they always deal fairly, however, and so they were not as profitable as they might have been. 'An economy, if it be meant for mutual advantage, should see to the needs of its members, and not to the enrichment of only a portion. That is avarice, not business.'
It was a cold and snowy evening when Nihls finally puzzled out the cause of Meidi's illness - and her great misery. She had been glad to travel to Anatheda, and spoke happily of what they would find when they were reunited with their brethren. But departing she seemed to have the cheer of a ghost, and the joy of a serpent. She looked at the palace of Pelas with indifference, whereas every other man and woman among them was awed if not terrified. She seemed interested in nothing and impatient whenever someone insisted upon having her attention for more than a moment. She had grown strangely polite, also, which Nihls could not, in her case, take to be a sign of good health. If she were asked something that might ordinarily have angered her she would just reply, curtly but kindly, 'Yes, yes, that is fine,' as if she were more concerned with ending the conversation than with whatever she was being asked. He did not, therefore, learn anything about her sickness from her own mouth. No one was foolish enough to gossip openly in his presence - that was one thing for which he had as little tolerance as his old teacher. But at times the rumors became so large and so dreadful that he could no longer ignore them. A few queries quickly provided him with the answers he needed.
He woke early the next morning to find the windows of his small cabin frosted over and several inches of snow on the ground outside. He quickly donned his clothing and lit a fire, hoping to drive some of the chill from his bones. He ate a quick breakfast of bread and cheese, washing it down with a hot cup of tea. He hesitated for a moment before belting on his sword. He could not decide whether it would help or hinder him today. He wrapped a thick woolen cloak around his shoulders and pushed open the door, struggling to push the snow out of the way.
It was not a long walk to Meidi's cabin, which she shared with a young Alwan woman named Irlina. It lay straight over the highest hill, just beyond a small copse of trees in the midst of a small wood. He made his way there now, the bright white snow crunching softly beneath his boots.
The sun rose warm in the sky, promising a quick melting for the snow. He hoped that Ilnoron would find a chance to enjoy it while it remained. But he took little joy in the thought - his present mission would be hard, and he had to struggle to keep his feet moving. Stopping, or turning back, would not be acceptable however. What he must do, he must do at once, and it would not be any easier if he waited.
He passed Irlina in the woods, and by her dark and uneasy expression he guessed that she had been apprised of the gossip. She nodded, looking back toward the cabin as though she considered returning to it. But she lifted her chin and passed him by with a curt nod.
He came to the oak door and stood for a moment staring at the grains, and wishing he had nothing more to do with his life than study such tiny details. One could lose themselves in the bark of a tree or in the veins of a leaf if they had the luxury. But so much of life was occupied with the struggle to live and to care for others that such things seemed wholly unimportant. Teacher Abbon had not thought so, but then, he had lived in a different time - not an entirely distant time, but one so different from the present that Nihls could scarcely believe the one had passed into the other.
He knocked gently, twice rapping his knuckles on the door. There was no answer at first, but before he thought to knock again he heard the lock move out of its place. The door, however, did not open, and he heard a soft thud as Meidi returned to sit near a small round table within. He pushed the door open slowly and, kicking the snow from his boots, stepped inside. The room was well kept, though he suspected this was mainly the work of Irlina, who had once been a maid in Alwan. Meidi's skin was pale and the fire on the hearth had died down.
Before doing anything Nihls stepped over and put a log onto the fire, carefully moving the smoldering logs until a strong flame sprang up.
He walked over to the front window and looked out at the walk; there were only two sets of prints in the snow, Irlina's leaving and his own arriving. He rested his hands on the window sill for a moment while he gathered his thoughts. He turned to Meidi and and then asked, 'May I sit with you for a while?'
She nodded, her eyes not moving toward him. There was only one reason he could be here, she reasoned. He must have discovered what she had tried to conceal - but such things cannot be concealed forever. She had not given Teacher Abbon's teachings nearly as much thought as even Noro or Giretta, or Amarin for that matter, and all that she really knew of him was the noble and honorable life he led. This made her uneasy in the presence of his pupil, though her own opinion of Nihls had long been sullied by her misapprehensions.
Nihls slid a chair out on the opposite side of the table and sat down, keeping his shoulders straight and his hands steady. This was not easy, given the difficult task he had set before him. 'Meidi,' he began. 'I love you.'
Her eyes darted up to meet his face and a look of horror passed over her face. For a moment her gaze passed over him and searched the room as if she expected to discover a crowd of people ready to watch this cruel jest. Nihls could not lover her, she thought sourly, and she did not want him to love her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but she could find no words.
Nihls spoke again, 'I cannot say that I love you as Noro does, or as many others love those they call beloved. But I will care for you; I will let nothing harm you. I will help you through every trial and in every way that I can. I will lay my life down for yours, and,' he hesitated for a moment, 'and for the life of your child.'
Tears streamed down her face when she realized that he knew what had happened in Anatheda.
'I offer you my hand,' he said after a pause, 'and everything that I am and possess. You do not have to love me, or so much as share a meal with me if you wish. I know that you have not thought highly of me, and I do not think that I deserve to be thought of. But if I can help you in any way, I will do whatever can be done. You know the ways of our people, and the things that they are beginning to say.'
She looked at his eyes for a moment and said, 'If we were to,' she struggled, unable to say the word, 'wed.' 'The people would think you were a scoundrel and a brute to have -' she could not even finish the words.
'Many think that already,' Nihls said. 'But they also think little of you, and they would think less if they...' he trailed off, realizing that what he was about to say might be hurtful.
'They would think the truth, Nihls,' she said. 'Will you then hide the truth from them?'
'It was the Eternal King himself,' Nihls said, 'who made bugs to look like leaves, and snakes to look like roots, and who made the fox turn white in the winter snow. I will not lie to any man. But there is no need for anyone to think poorly of you.'
He hesitated for a moment before continuing. He understood so little of women that he was afraid to pretend that he understood Meidi's motivations of all things. 'If you did not regret what happened, you would not have left Anatheda.'
Meidi cupped her hand over her mouth and wept.
'Meidi,' Nihls began, leaning toward her and extending his hand across the small table, not quite enough to touch her, but enough to show his sympathies. 'The love that I offer you, you cannot refuse, whether you refuse my hand or not. Any man can be a lover, so long as his beloved longs for his presence. But my love is the same love that I have always borne for you. It does not wax or wane with my mood or with age, and it changes not whether you hate me or whether you love me. I will be at your side, and do whatever I must to ensure your safety and peace. I will go, also,' he said sternly. 'If you wish it, my love will take me away from you - forever even, if you wish. Send me away or call me to your side; my love will remain the same, ever devoted to the good. I cannot see within your soul, however, so tell me what you wish of me, and I will do it or see it done. If my presence troubles you, just say the word and I will be gone, for I would rather you be at ease without me than be troubled.'
'It is not your duty,' she said, 'to guard my honor, Nihls,' Meidi said, her voice for the first time saying his name without any hint of disdain. 'You have not wronged me; it would not be right for me to let you destroy yourself for my sake. You have led the Enthedu well,' she conceded, though Nihls was pretty sure she would still have some criticisms for his trading methods. 'But they will not let you lead if they think you have behaved inappropriately.'
'I will have lost nothing if men who think too much of me come to think less,' he answered. 'And I can no more pretend that I am innocent in this than we can pretend that there could be a Spring without a Winter, or a half-eclipse without the whole orb of the sun. No man acts alone, Meidi, and we must, like our master Theodysus, make ourselves everything and nothing. The Essenes said, "Unless a man becomes his own father, he shall not know the Mountain of Life." We must take responsibility for everything; for we are, in the Hidden Name, of one substance.'
'I think I would have liked to hear more of your Teacher Abbon's words,' she said gently. But then her face became stern and somber. 'I do not love you Nihls,' she said, forcing the words from her mouth, struggling not to cry.
'If you did not,' he replied, 'then it would not pain you to say that. Wish well of me, and wish well for me, and you will love me more deeply than ever a lover did for his beloved. Any man can love a woman, the lover is merely lucky enough to have found one for whom his love is, at the first at least, easy. Time, however, strips him of the enthusiasm, and he finds that all he ever truly had was enthusiasm, and never truly love.'
She had only a few moments to think about what he had said when he rose from his chair to meddle with the fire once again. 'I will see to it that someone brings you more wood. Think on what I have said, and do with me as you wish.'
'Nihls,' she said, turning to look him in the eyes. She seemed to be alive again, and filled with renewed strength, though there was still no joy in her face. 'Do not waste yourself on me. I know that Giretta was the one you loved and longed after.'
'That love was blind,' Nihls said. 'It longed after that which was not and could not have been. All such longing is painful, but it is no more possible for its strength. I will not let that wound prevent me from doing what I can and what I ought. I am not after what might have been, or what could yet be. I commemorate only what was, choose only what is, and strive only for what will be. We are,' he meant the Enthedu as a whole, 'lovers of truth. If I spend my life seeking what cannot be or regretting what could not have been, it will be a greater loss than a reality that, to my frail judgment, is less than what I would have preferred.'
Nihls hesitated for a moment and then, after shutting his eyes he said softly, 'Meidi, if I had wanted Giretta, then it was only my blindness of the future that permitted me to seek her hand. If you will have me, then you will be my true love, for I will devote myself wholly to you and to you only.'
'You will not be happy with me Nihls,' she said without any guile.
'He who marries for happiness marries for himself,' Nihls said. 'And he might as well marry himself. But I would marry you for you; but no man can promise a woman happiness. What I can provide, however, I lay at your feet.'
She knew already that he would treat her child as if it were his own; she could not doubt his faithfulness. She rose from her seat and approached him, her face as cold and pale as the snowy ground outside. She put her hand upon his cheek and kissed the side of his face. 'I will marry you then,' she said before returning to her chair. 'You are too stubborn and noble to turn away anyhow,' she said with a wry smile. 'I learned all about what happened at the bathing pools from Ebbe, while yet we were in Anatheda,' she said, unable to meet his gaze as her cheeks reddened. 'You are the same child, Nihls. You are the very same foolish, but noble child. I think your parents would have been proud.' Her eyes became downcast for a moment as she thought on her own father, and how her ancestor was the Blest Candorian himself. What would he have thought of her, she thought bitterly.
As if he sensed her dark thoughts Nihls said, 'The child does not arise from his parents by chance or by magic, Meidi, but is the passing of the parents into a new form. When a parent's eyes shut in death they open in life, living again in the eyes of their children. Whatever becomes of us, then, they at the very least understand, and understanding they cannot despise us. Even if they despised us in life, they would come to know us in death, and knowing us they would forgive - they do forgive.'
'And wise words do not arise by magic either,' Meidi said, looking at Nihls as he stood by the fire. 'They are the very thoughts of one person as they enter into and form the thoughts of another. Your teacher would be proud of you, Nihls - he IS proud of you.'
Nihls was startled by his own reaction to her words. His chest heaved with emotion and tears dripped unbidden from his cheeks. 'You honor me more than I deserve, Meidi,' he said, bowing low.
They looked at one another considerately for a while, before Nihls finally said, 'I will leave you now, and I will make the arrangements as soon as possible. You know how people are in such matters.'
'Good day, Nihls,' she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
To Nihls she seemed from that hour to regain somewhat of the life she had despaired of since the fall of Thedval.
The Blest
Under Noro's leadership the Blest came to dominate the lands bordering the western marches of Alwan. These lands had been abandoned in the ancient days as Lord Parganas attempted to hide the truth of what had been destroyed upon Mount Vitiai. Entire cities where the old Immortals had dwelt and flourished were left to rot and vanish while the elves built their kingdom in the east. After all the horrors of that ancient war there was very little of value to be found there. But the ages that had passed since then brought an abundance of rich soil and good hunting to the region, and Noro's people prospered there. The abundance they brought to market at first drew others who were eager for wealth and perhaps a new start at life. These were readily welcomed into their villages and towns, so long as they adopted to one degree or another the teachings of the Wisemen. There is very little that men will not accept, or simply pretend to accept, for the sake of security. Their wealth in time attracted the taxmen of Lord Pelas, and, after these were sent empty handed back to Alwan, their ideas attracted the Doctrai.
This led to conflict, but the Blest were not wholly unprepared. They were armed and trained warriors, though perhaps untested. They drove back several attempts by Lord Pelas' men to lay hold of Anatheda and its surrounding villages. A fortified encampment was constructed, and soon the whole region was set against Pelas and his power.
Noro spoke boldly to his followers, saying, 'Thus far may a devil go, but no further. There is a time, brethren, a time when a man has been robbed of so much that no m
ore can be taken. Lord Pelas was given the dominion, but he has misused it and abused his people, taking from them that which belongs to them by right. He shall not trample the people of Theodysus the ruler of stars forever. It was said of old that we would bring light to Bel Albor, and truth. Pelas has set himself against the Eternal King. And we shall not let his challenge rise to the heavens unanswered. There is a time, brethren, when abuse becomes too great for a man of honor to ignore.'
With many such speeches to many people in many places Noro rallied the whole region, including some of the border villages of Alwan, under his banner.
There was a war, and many among the Blest perished. But many more among the warriors of Alwan were slain as they attempted to fight on grounds that were unknown to them against men who fought for their homes and farms, and not at the behest of a tyrant. Noro's success fueled his own sense of rightness, and soon songs were being sung throughout the region in praise of the Blest of God, who would bring an end to Lord Pelas' reign and in praise of Noro and the spear he wielded. Soon the name of Noro the Hero began to be echoed throughout Alwan, some speaking the name in fear and others in deference.
Word came to Sunlan, and Agonas redoubled his efforts to push his brother back across the Thedul River, seeing that Pelas was now pressed from both sides.
Noro himself performed many daring feats and had many great successes on the battlefield, both as a warrior and as a leader. His men lay in ambush against a force sent by Maru, and he very nearly captured the high elf before they were rescued by Marruvis, the third son of Falruvis. In a battle that took place just fifty leagues north of the Great Lake, Noro slew two dozen men alone before Athar and his guards could reach and rescue him. The Blest were driven back that day, but the elves sang no songs of victory - their losses were humiliating.
After several villages of the Blest were put to the fire, Noro led his armies into Alwan itself, and captured the city of Norul, which stood about half way between Anatheda and Albori. He burned the entire city with fire, laying its buildings low and driving its people into the wilderness. As it is with all wars, so it was also for Noro the hero - among the dead lay women and children.
'Peace,' Noro told his followers, 'is what we have been called to. But peace comes by victory, and not in defeat or surrender. We are men of peace; followers of Theodysus. But is it following his way to abandon mankind to the whims of a madman forever? Or is it not just to wage this war against his evils? If men die by the wayside, their blood also lies upon the head of Pelas, whose malice has required this war from us!'
In the end Pelas was forced to form a truce with Noro's people, sending Sol and Falruvis to negotiate. In this way he was able to retain his forces to hold back Agonas' advances into what once was the kingdom of Ilvas. The terms of this truce named Noro the 'Marshall of West Alwan,' granting him authority from his present borders to the sea in the west. But it was implicit in the 'alliance' that should he so much as dream about crossing into Alwan proper he would face the whole might of the high elves.
News of this came in time to the Enthedu who dwelt near the Great Lake in the south. Some departed at once, thinking that, at last, the people of Theodysus had won their security and safety. Most of them, however, were fearful. Those who had enough sense understood that, while Pelas might be content to treat with Noro now, he would not tolerate a rival forever, nor could any rival hope to outlast his slow-burning immortal wrath.
Talebearers
Among those who departed from the Enthedu to dwell again among the Blest were some who spoke ill of Nihls and of Meidi. The truce Noro had achieved with Lord Pelas was, to their minds, proof enough that the Eternal King was not so averse to warfare that he would not grant success to a good hearted man like Noro. The hardships they had endured with Nihls made them bitter, and they found that hard words against the Enthedu more quickly endeared them to Noro and his captains than any other signs of loyalty or trust.
Some of these slandered Nihls by reporting to the Blest in Anatheda the times and dates of the proposal, the marriage and finally the birth of Meidi's child. The report spread throughout the west, and of how Nihls was stripped of his command over the Enthedu (in truth he surrendered it quite willingly to another) as a result of his abuses.
The news came to Noro's ears and it was said that when he had made the necessary calculations his face grew as dark as death. He thrust his spear into the ground and declared publicly his enmity with Nihls. No man dared ask a reason from him, and so long forgotten were the ways of the Enthedu that no man so much as questioned his right to speak in such a manner of one who would have been considered his brother in the days of Thedval.
To his hired warriors, and to Athar in particular, Noro ordered that Nihls be slain if he ever again entered their dominion. He refused to believe that Meidi would have chosen to marry Nihls rather than to seek his protection - for he was the better protector. He had a scroll in his bedchamber with the seal of Lord Pelas that said as much. To his mind Nihls was no better than a kidnapper, and all manner of dark and suspicious thoughts began to enter his mind. 'If he wishes to raise up my own heir to overthrow me,' Noro said madly to Athar, 'then he will learn his mistake by the end.'
Athar had no love for the ways of the Enthedu; he had known only the ways of the Blest. He nodded agreement and counseled Noro as to how he might destroy this danger to him and his people.