Chapter VIII:
Choices Already Made
Danger
Nearly fifty years passed before the people of Ilvas were prepared for war. By this time, however, their existence had been fully uncovered both in Alwan and Sunlan. 'Parganas will march to war, if we do not act at once,' Agonas said with great urgency. 'We have become a rival within his own dominion, and he will not have it, be our intentions whatsoever you will.'
'The Lady Aedanla would not tolerate it!' Pelas objected.
'Our mother is a prisoner within her own house. She has not returned to Parganas, and Parganas has turned away from her, taking to wife another woman.'
'That our mother, who gave us being and motion, should be powerless I cannot believe so easily. But that your father-'
Agonas looked at him fiercely. 'That OUR father would betray her thus, I had foreseen long ago.'
Agonas rolled his eyes and shook his head; for Pelas had grown increasingly fond of speaking as though he anticipated every report that came to his ears. 'Yet it remains, brother, that the soldiers of Alwan are being trained as if to war. The goblins of the north are fat and content, having their fill from the excess of those who live nearest the forest - mortals, who do not have the protection of the elves.' (It was the universal practice of the elves in those days to consider the lives of mortals as very unimportant due to their brevity)
'You mean that he intends to march to Ilvas?' Pelas asked.
'I mean that is the only explanation for his preparations. He is at peace with Lushlin; and there are no other rebels in the land. Excepting, of course, the lords of Ilvas.'
'But we are no rebels,' Pelas said with great anger. 'I would never betray Parganas; it would be a dishonor and a disgrace.'
'Yet not one without reason,' Agonas muttered.
'How dare you? You know our father favored you, yet you would repay his affection with betrayal.'
'Tell me, Pelas, since we did not ask to be born, who is it that has wronged whom? Parganas, because he lusts after our mother, fills her belly to the brim with OUR suffering. And because he does not wish to pass into obscurity, he sends our elder brothers away to die even as he intends for us to die. For that alone we owe him nothing, for he is the murderer of our kinsmen.'
'What would you have me do, then, march against our father, to avenge men we have never met in living flesh?'
'I would have none of that,' Agonas replied, 'I merely wish to show you the peril of our circumstance. Parganas will come; perhaps not now, but he will come all the same. If not, Sunlan will come. If we are going to act, we must act soon, or Fate will act against us.'
Pelas closed his eyes for a minute and then said, quietly, 'It is as I thought it would be.'
Agonas put his hand over his mouth to conceal his cold grin. 'Then we shall soon march?'
'Indeed,' Pelas answered. 'It is time to march upon Sunlan, to fulfill our oaths and take that which Destiny herself vouchsafes for our arrival.'
The Preparations
The north of Sunlan, where the Essenes dwelt, would be easy for the army of Ilvas to conquer. But to march south upon Sunlan itself, facing its towers and its fortresses would be more than even King Parganas' army could handle. It was Agonas' belief, though he could not bring himself to inform his hopeful brother, that it was their father's plan to injure the defenses of Sunlan by means of his sons, but to break them and conquer by his own force when their attempt was brought to a bloody end. This would eliminate the threat of malcontent successors and an eastern rival in one mighty blow.
The army of Ilvas could march across the Talon Mountains, and march against the unfortified cities of the coast, coming to Sunlan Palace from the east; for the palace was guarded against the river and the north, but not against the coast, for they had no enemies in that direction. It was this latter strategy that Agonas endorsed in council. But Pelas was reluctant to agree with him. 'The army's strength would be spent in the mountains, and we would come to the coast as hungry beggars, not as conquering lords.'
'Yet, brother,' Agonas argued. 'It would be better to stumble over the Talons, then to break against the wall of Sunlan. You have seen it yourself, it can withstand us.'
'Then hadn't we wait until our army has grown stronger, and our numbers greater?' Ruvis said, seeming reluctant to go to war at all. 'Our numbers grow ever day, among the Knariss and Lupith we have many servants, and even our elves begin to bear children. Dalele is but the first fruits. Lohi has supported us in this, sending women as well as supplies from Lushlin.'
'We cannot hold off, Ruvis,' Kolohi said with frustration. 'Parganas grows weary of us; for we are not, properly speaking, his servants. We must go over the Talons,' he added, addressing Pelas. 'For Sunlan is not ignorant of us.'
'And who is to be blamed for that?' Ruvis said, glancing at Oblis and Cheru.
'It was not of their doing,' Agonas admitted, though he heartily agreed with Ruvis' sentiments on the matter. 'You cannot hide a kingdom forever, and we have been here for many years now.'
'And what do you say, Falruvis?' Pelas asked, addressing the son of Ruvis.
'I should agree with my father,' he answered, 'were it not for King Parganas, whose might is certainly greater than our own. We cannot depart from the path we are on, whether the road ahead be easy or not. I have faith in my lords, however, and I trust that Fate will guide us in council.'
'A diplomatic answer,' Agonas laughed. 'We should send Falruvis to Sunlan as an emissary; he seems to have a talent for pleasing all men at once.'
The council chamber of Ilvas was built just south of the King's hall, where Pelas and Agonas ruled from two thrones. The ceiling in the chamber was high, and built with bright white stones that reflected the lamplight back onto a great oak table in the center of the room. Around this table were crowded the lords of Ilvas: Pelas, Agonas, Bralohi, Kolohi, Sol, Ruvis, his son Falruvis, Aebral, the eldest son of Bralohi with two of his brothers, Edbral and Cadbral. Dalta with his raven hair also sat pondering their schemes, with Ginat, Oblis and Cheru sitting at his right side.
Pelas looked uneasy, though his voice sounded as confident as ever it had.
'If we put it to a vote,' he said, 'I would undoubtedly find myself in the minority. But I am not one of you - for you have sworn your allegiance to me, and to my cause. And I have proved myself to you, that I am a faithful lord and a prudent king. In a tally of opinion, then, how can it be said that the opinions of servants are weightier than the council of a king? We shall not cross the Talon, for we know not what shall come of such an endeavor. The road to Sunlan is hard indeed; but our path has always been hard. The roads have been perilous, the rewards few, the glory has tarried beyond the edge of dawn. We know that the Essenes will not trouble our armies, and we know the road to Sunlan is paved and smooth. Let us therefore trust to our skill and strength, facing Ijjan openly and without guile - Fate shall be the arbiter.'
The room fell silent, none daring to argue with him.
Daryas
The Woodland Road was the name given to the highway that connected the lands of the Essenes and the Knariss with the Kingdom of Ilvas. Ere the road passed under the thick cover of the ancient trees of the North there was a guard tower and a great force of mortal guards. These men were paid well, and trained by the elves to act as the first line of defense should any danger approach Ilvas. Hugron was the nightwatchman in those days, and among his fellows there was no man with keener eyes. But he did not see the traveler, cloaked in a robe of brown with a rope tied about his waist.
When this strange visitor knocked upon the iron gates, Hugron lost his temper, 'Who dares sneak into the Kingdom of Lord Pelas and his brother, the lord Agonas? Speak quickly, or you shall come to a bad end.'
'Calm yourself, Hugron,' the traveler said. 'There are many things in this world that are unseeable; you cannot be blamed for missing one little thing.'
'Declare yourself!' Hugron demanded. 'For the penalty for trespassing
in Ilvas is death.'
'It is a good thing, then, that I am not trespassing,' the man said with a smile. 'To trespass, I must needs be upon land over which I have no authority.'
'This is the land of Lord Pelas,' Hugron insisted. 'It is he that decides what is and is not trespassing.'
'Indeed,' the man laughed, even as one who laughs at the ignorance of a small child. 'Can one have authority over the land itself?'
'What nonsense is this? How dare you,' Hugron raged. The man just shook his head.
'I think you mean to say, master Hugron, that Lord Pelas rules over the elves, and over the Knariss and Essenes. The land itself!' he laughed again, 'how could a man have authority over the land? As if he might compel it to obey him.' Suddenly he looked at Hugron with a fierce grin and said, 'But he has no authority over me.'
Hugron drew his sword. His companions followed his example and prepared to make an end of the strange visitor. But ere they could lay hands upon him a gust of wind blew, sweeping the man away from their grasp and carrying him away to the north. Hugron tore at his beard and cursed. He shook his head and looked around at his fellows in great confusion. He could not remember a word that had just been spoken to him, and neither could the others.
A similar scene unfolded at the front gate of Ilvas not some three minutes later. The wind had borne the traveler through the woods to the very gates of the fortress of Ilvas, where an immortal guard stood watching the road with unblinking eyes. But he did not see the traveler's approach.
'Hail, Feduin,' the robed man said, addressing the guard by name.
The elf blinked hard and rubbed his eyes, at first believing the traveler to be a phantom or an illusion. 'Who calls upon Ilvas at this late hour, and how have you passed our checkpoint. Friends enter at the gate, but robbers come through the wilderness.'
'I cannot rob what you do not possess,' the traveler answered.
'What is the meaning of this? Speak quickly, for I have already shown you too much mercy.'
'And I you,' the traveler said. 'Now,' he began, speaking with terrible authority, 'bring me before the lords of Ilvas.'
The appropriate response would have been to say, 'The lords do not accept such petitions,' or, perhaps, to have slain the visitor then and there for the disdain he had shown for the powers of Ilvas. But Feduin could not resist the command, and turned at once to lead the traveler to the council chambers, where the lords of the elves conspired. His heart dropped, for he knew that the penalty for what he must do would be nothing less than death.
'Do not worry, master elf,' the traveler said. 'If your masters hear my words, then they will not dare lift a finger against you. And if they do not, then you have done nothing wrong, for you have, if they receive nothing from me, done nothing at all.'
The guards at the entrance to the fortress were asleep, much to the horror of the watchman, who thought that they perhaps could waylay the traveler ere he came to Lord Pelas. So soundly did they sleep that they did not even flinch when the large wooden doors creaked upon their iron hinges, swinging out into the dark night air.
The entry hall was lit by a single stone altar, which sent its smoke rising through an aperture in the ceiling. When the traveler entered the altar flared up, and illuminated the room as if it were the very light of day. 'Which way?' asked the traveler.
Feduin pointed at a dark staircase in the northeast corner of the hall. The traveler left him in the entryway, his enchantment slowly wearing off as his brown robes vanished down into the darkness below. He lit no torches and made no sounds, passing three more guards without notice. At last, he came to a great oak door, guarded by two armored elves. The traveler smiled, and passed through the elves and the door alike, appearing in the council chamber like the sun as it reveals itself from beyond the clouds of heaven.
Some within the chamber made as if they might confront the stranger, but ere aught could be done they were altogether rendered senseless.
'Oh fateful gathering!' the stranger exclaimed with great sadness in his voice, 'You should not think, as men are won't to, that there is anything within you that resembles the power you believe yourselves to possess. There is a master builder, but he has use for stones, and not for living souls or fiery spirits. Be therefore, as stones, being and not doing. For in being alone you have that which all men pine after. In doing you can do naught but fail, for power belongs to One only.'
'How dare you!' Pelas cried out, striving against the strange power that had come over the room. 'Who comes to us as if he were our lord; when we alone are lords?'
'I am Daryas, a servant,' the traveler answered. 'There is one power, master elf, and it, being single, cannot be opposed. All your striving, therefore, is folly, and not striving.'
In Pelas' ears he heard once again the voice of his mother, assuring him that, 'you and all are one.'
'Do not be fooled, master Pelas,' Daryas said, 'in thinking that I speak of any power that belongs to you. For when the Power of which I speak acts, you must be still; and when it speaks, you must be silent.'
When that last word was spoken, Pelas closed his mouth and could say nothing more. Agonas stared in awe, with a great fury burning beneath his brow. Each elf heard the words of the stranger, but none of them were content with what they were hearing.
'I spoke of a builder,' Daryas continued. 'You are stones, though you think you are men. And you shall be built into a mighty tower. Be, even as you have been made, and the master will slide you into your place with great ease. But if you must be powerful yourselves, striving against him, then he must, as he must with all uneven stones, first cut away the inequities. In this way only shall you be rendered useful.'
Agonas, fighting against the strange power that had overtaken the room, finally mastered himself enough to utter a complaint. 'You speak uneven words, devil.'
'What words? What I speak, I speak - but what you hear, you hear. It is your ears that hear uneven. And it is you, oh Agonistes, who shall ever be known as a devil. Twice more you shall see me, dark son of Parganas, and each time your power shall be diminished.'
'Lord Pelas,' Daryas continued, turning his attention to the high elf. 'No man who has ever lived has been able to convince themselves more fully that they are, despite all sense, gods, than you have. Every moment of your life, therefore, shall be an evidence and a testimony against your pretenses, but you are forbidden to understand it. Knowledge is a gift; and you have proven yourself unworthy of it. Believe, therefore, that you are wise - it is as close to Wisdom as you shall ever come.'
Bralohi began to struggle, being filled with rage at the dishonor his master had been shown. But Daryas stopped him. 'Bralohi, son of Lohi, there is something of honor within you, but so deep is it hidden that it shall take all the ages of the world to be brought to light. You will drink your fill of sorrow and folly ere the end, but we shall not forever be foes.'
'Foes?' Ruvis spoke in great anger. 'What have we ever done to make ourselves foes?'
'Everything you have ever striven for, Ruvis, has been born of your own lusts. In this you have cut yourself off from the Power that reigns in Bel Albor. You shall not see the rise of the elves.'
Dalta, and some of the other elves began to fight also, being addressed in turn by the stranger with words of warning and of prophecy. 'Dalta, kinslayer,' Daryas said, with tears in his eyes. 'If you had learned that every man is your brother, you would have been prevented from shedding your own blood. But you are a warrior, and in war you shall have great sorrow. Howbeit, heaven shall spare you the knowledge that would be most terrible for you.'
'Falruvis,' and here Daryas shook his head, 'You shall be mighty upon the earth, but you have learned the lessons of Pelas too well, and his folly shall be your undoing.'
'Sol, most clever of elves, your wisdom will save your kin for a time, but your folly will damn them.'
When he had, in this manner, given dooms and promises to each elf, he walked to the head of the table
and addressed them all. 'It would be for show, only, if I offered you hope - and a chance to change the path upon which you sojourn. Turn, now, and fly from the evil that shall befall you, and which you shall bring upon the earth. I speak not of that which must come to pass - for it must come to pass. I speak of your own souls, and their fierce rebellion. But alas, I have come, not because your will might be turned, but because your will has already been fixed from the beginning. You shall bring low the elements of the earth, of the sea and of the land. The power of the air belongs to the Guarantor. But in the end, as you have set your wills in opposition to the Power, your names will be words of dread while you live, and words of shame until the world is remade.'
'Have we no choice in this matter, master spirit?' Kolohi said, with a soul torn between disdain and humility.
'Indeed, all men have choice in all things. But not when they appear. Ere I came to you, your souls were already fixed in the matter. Will you serve the power in humility of heart? Or will you serve by compulsion? Either way, the Power shall be served. The paths appear before you in this moment, but you, who are the decider, are already what you are and shall be. The choice only reveals your will, but is not the acting of your will.'
Kolohi fell silent and hung his head low, deeply troubled in spirit.
When he had finished speaking he vanished from the room, leaving them all in doubt and confusion. So abrupt was his departure, and so sudden the return to the waking world, that the elves were at a loss as to whether or not it had, in truth, occurred.
Only Kolohi and Bralohi spoke of the matter, and even then only in secret after the council had dispersed. 'What was the meaning of it, brother?' Bralohi asked.
'I do not know,' Kolohi said quietly. 'It was a dream.'
'Nay, it was like a dream,' Bralohi argued, 'But men dream within themselves; this was dreamed without.'
'Still, I know not what to make of it.'
'What are the elements of the land and sea? What is the meaning of it? And why have we been told that we shall bring them low?'
'Who can tell, brother?' Kolohi said, not wishing to speak any more of the matter. Both of them, however, noticed that from that day forth Lord Pelas had an almost divine confidence. 'Could it have been the voice of fate itself?' Kolohi asked within himself.
The Feast
On the night before the elves were to set out for war, they held a great feast. Every man, both servant and master, was bidden to the table in the grand hall of Ilvas. 'We will have no need for servants henceforth!' Pelas declared. 'For in Sunlan, every man who fights for me will become a lord and a master. Let the cooks, therefore, eat of their own bread and drink of their own wine - for we shall leave the dishes behind for the rats and goblins to lick clean. Tomorrow, we ascend to the throne of Ijjan!'
There was a great burst of cheering and clapping as the elves made merry. The mortals they commanded, however, were not as joyful, for they knew that whether they fought or not, they would yet be as dry leaves in the eyes of their immortal masters.
Wine flowed freely, and every art that the elves had mastered was put on display. There was music and song, poetry and storytelling such as has never been seen in Tel Arie - for it passed away with the Northern World.
Ruvis alone seemed unaffected by the clamor. In his sweaty fingers he held what looked to be a small pebble. What he was about to do, he had longed to do for many ages. Those same ages had tempered his fury, however, and he found his task difficult to do. In the end, however, he dropped the pebble into the wine that had been poured for Agonas.
Within a minute of imbibing the liquid, Agonas stepped away from his seat, feeling ill and feverish. He rushed from the room, not willing that any should see him in his moment of frailty. The torchlight in the hall seemed to flicker and dim, but it was, in truth, his own eyes that failed him. He could not tell whether he looked at the floor or the ceiling, and, without even realizing it, he found himself on the ground, gazing up at the stone ceiling. The music and merriment faded away into nothingness, and he passed into a peaceful sleep.
He could not tell how long he had slept. Dream after dream flitted through his mind; sometimes of things past, sometimes of things yet to come - or of things not to come in any age. He heard a distant voice say to him, 'Sleep, brother. When I see you again, we shall be lords over Bel Albor.' A hurt such as he had never felt came over him. For he knew, even in his nightmares, that his brother, after all the many years of their camaraderie, bore him such distrust. After what seemed like a lifetime of dreams had passed through his mind, a vision of the Princess Indra appeared to him. He saw her standing in the sun, holding out her arms to him. He took her hand into his own and pulled her close to his heart. He wrapped his dark arms around her waist and her shoulders, and kissed her deeply. Even as they embraced, though, he heard a sound enter into his ears, breaking him from the prison of sleep.
He opened his eyes, and the Princess vanished away with his dreams. 'Indra!' he cried out. He looked around his bed. There was a foul stench in the air, and his clothing was filthy - he had been lying there for several days.
He tore off his clothing and threw a cloak about himself. Rushing to the door, he shouted, 'Pelas! What have you done!?' He pulled at the brass handle upon the door, but it would not move. The oak door had been replaced by a door of iron bars.
He returned to his bed and looked at the window. There were iron bars fastened to the stone opening, preventing anyone from entering or leaving thereby. 'You fool!' he cried out. 'How shall you defeat Unijan and his brothers alone?'
There was no answer, and he could do naught else but pound upon the door and curse his brother's name. Night came, and nothing changed. He laid himself down at the door and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Ruvis
The following morning Agonas awoke to the sound of hinges creaking. He rolled over just in time to see a hand removing itself from the room. The door shut quickly, leaving behind a bowl of fruit, a pitcher of water and a loaf of bread. It was not bad fare; and Agonas ate it gratefully, for his stomach felt as though it were about to cave in upon itself. When he had finished his breakfast he attempted the door once again. It was locked fast, and the hinges were of steel. 'Amro,' he grumbled, knowing that the mighty smith's work would not be merciful to him.
The following day he woke before the sun arose and waited by the door. This time, as his meal was delivered, he grabbed the hand as it left behind the pitcher.
'Agh!' the man shouted in fear.
Agonas pulled hard upon the man's arm, twisting it as he struggled for a better hold.
'Ruvis?' he asked as he brought himself to face his jailor. Sure enough, there stood Ruvis with his arm twisted and caught between iron bars.
'Bars upon the door of your master?' Agonas said with a sneer. 'But nay, you are not my servant - you serve Pelas.'
'Lord Pelas only wished to spare you the danger of battle,' Ruvis pleaded. Agonas nearly lost his grip for the fit of laughter that overtook him. But though Ruvis' own strength was great, he was as a child before the might of Agonas.
'What do you mean to do to me?' Ruvis bellowed. 'You cannot escape; I am not so foolish as to have brought the keys with me.'
'That is clever of you, Ruvis,' Agonas said with malice behind his teeth. 'But I do not wish to escape.'
Ruvis was silent for a moment, awaiting the moment that Agonas would see sense and release him. 'If I perish, he perishes,' Ruvis said to himself, 'for who then shall bring him food and water each day.'
Indeed, the entire fortress had been abandoned. The brothers knew that the moment they departed, the servants of their father would descend upon Ilvas, and take possession of it. Thus they had decided that, whatever the outcome, they would pass into Sunlan for good - either to die or to win the day. But it would be impossible to return to Ilvas. Therefore they brought with their army every possession they could possibly transport, and they summoned to their ranks every ally th
at they had made in their centuries of rule. 'Fate herself marches this day - let us lead her,' Pelas had said to his captains. 'You, however,' he had said to Ruvis, 'are to remain for a time, and to release my brother when the hour comes.'
'Surely my lord does not wish to starve to death in this place?' Ruvis said, struggling with every word.
'Starve?' Agonas laughed. 'Why should I worry about starving? I have food here with me.' He pointed at the pitcher of water and the bowl of fruit.
'But then what shall you eat?' Ruvis said, beginning for the first time to truly fear for his life.
'If I were truly desperate,' he hissed, spitting in the sweat covered face of his captor, 'I am sure I could find SOMETHING.'
Ruvis' heart sank. Agonas struggled for a moment and unwrapped his cloak from his body. He threw it around Ruvis' neck and began to bind the elf to the bars.
'What is the meaning of this? You are a madman!'
'Indeed,' Agonas affirmed. 'But at least I am not a liar. There is nothing worse than a liar.' He paused for a few seconds and then queried, 'You are not a liar, master Ruvis?' Ruvis held his tongue. 'Silent. I see. You are most honest when you do not speak at all. But I would not want you to become a liar, so I will show you this mercy.' When the cloak was securely bound, Agonas left the door with Ruvis still bound to it, and sought out more cloth in the room. He found some curtains and a clean white sheet. Ruvis had nearly freed himself from the cloak by the time he returned to the door, but with the new linens Agonas was able to bind him fast, so that he could do little more than wiggle his fingers and roll his eyes.
'I say I shall show you this mercy,' Agonas continued, 'in that I shall not let you become a liar. You have heard the old stories, of course, about how our ancestors were deceived by the dragons and how that brought death into the world. I would not want you do share in that evil, my dear friend. In that you have called me mad, I shall be mad, lest you be shown to have a lie upon your tongue.'
Agonas prowled around the room, searching for something. He took hold of a chair and brought it over to the door. 'Madmen, they say, think not of the future, but live by the moment, not understanding the consequences of what they do. Starve, you say? Perhaps, but I do not feel hungry. So let me forget sanity and concern myself only with the present, and my present desires.'
'Please!' Ruvis shouted.
Agonas laughed and slammed the chair against the iron bars with all his strength. The chair shattered into a dozen pieces, crashing from the stone walls to the floor with a terrible sound. Ruvis screeched in agony as the impact shook his entire body. His head flew away from the bars and then slammed back into the iron by reason of his bonds. Three more chairs followed, until Agonas could no longer approach the bars. He took a moment to sweep aside the debris.
'Please, master,' Ruvis said. 'Let me go, and I shall get the keys for you, I swear it by all the gods, I swear it by the unnameable and highest. Release me, I beg of you.'
'Now you wish me to believe you are the madman,' Agonas chuckled. For you must be mad if you think that I shall be so easily taken in. You know as well as I that, if I release you, you shall not return to me again.'
'Please,' panted Ruvis. 'You are not mad!' Another jolt struck him, as Agonas kicked against the bars.
'Now you contradict yourself, saying that I am not mad. Thus I can be sure that you are the madman, and that the words you speak are meaningless. So, no, I must contradict you, for I never trust madmen - I am, myself, quite mad.'
Another series of attacks came, until blood began to appear on the rags by which Ruvis was held. He could scarcely lift his head, and struggled for every breath.
'I suppose,' Agonas said, taking a break from his violence, 'that… I am not I.' He laughed. 'For you said I was mad, but then I had not yet broken apart all these chairs. But I have. Thus, if I did not, yet I did, then I am not I.' He wanted to laugh at his own words, but they struck him as truth. Fearing he truly was going mad, he simply shrugged and resumed his assault upon the door.
Ruvis died long before he broke the iron that bound the door to the wall. Agonas himself was battered with wounds ere the end. But the bars gave and the door fell open, crashing down upon the limp corpse of the silver haired elf.
Into Sunlan
His battle with the iron bars seemed to have emptied him of his fury. He walked calmly through the empty halls until he reached his own chambers. He clothed himself and bound his sword upon his waist. His belongings had not been plundered. By this he could tell that Pelas truly meant to release him, presumably after he had sat upon the throne of Ijjan and claimed his father's kingdom.
'Fool brother,' he said to himself. 'If Parganas truly steps down from his seat to make way for us, I will perish in amazement.'
The many years that they had spent in this land came before his eyes, and he remembered their oaths. He remembered how lost Pelas was on that morning so many years before, when they had been sent from their father's presence to bring his dominion over Sunlan. He sighed, and made his way into the council chamber. He lit a torch and searched around the room. It looked as though a wind had swept through the whole palace, carrying away its people but leaving their mugs and their plates, their papers and their quills where they lay.
He found a map, resting upon the table near the seat of Pelas. Looking upon it he saw marks of ink, showing the road as it wound eastward through North Sunlan and then south toward Sunlan Palace. His heart sank. 'Foolish,' he said, knowing that his brother had ignored his council and chosen to march against Sunlan from the north. 'In this way you shall weaken them indeed. And then Parganas himself will triumph. You will be a hero, brother, but you shall not be king.' He looked closer at the map and then ran his fingers over the ink. It was dry, but he saw the inkwell sitting near at hand. The ink had not dried up, though several days has passed. 'There is yet time,' he said, rushing from the room and out of the fortress.
There were no animals left behind in the stable, so he took to the road on foot, running for nearly seven leagues before exhaustion finally overtook him. He fell to the ground and slept upon the open road in the place where he landed.
Before the sun rose he was on his feet again, rushing through the woods toward the land of the Essenes. After two hours he came to a place where he knew there to be a farm. He made no demonstration of his authority; he simply marched into the fields and took one of the farmer's horses. He rode the animal bareback for three hours until he reached a village. It was a small village, and he knew not the name thereof - history has forgotten it as well. But there he found a better horse and purchased some supplies. He was in such haste that he did not reveal himself to the shopkeeper, but simply tossed a small bag of gold atop the counter. He rushed out before he could even hear the shopkeeper's gratitude - for he had paid thrice the worth of that which he took.
He rode this horse into the south until its legs gave out and it tumbled to the ground, just two miles north of a village of the Lupith.
It was night, so he made a small fire and ate a hasty meal. He stretched himself out beneath the stars and stared up at their unchanging forms. 'In all the ages of the world, you have not altered,' he said, repeating what he had been taught as a child. 'It would be futile to beg aid of you, then, you who never alter. For what you have decided you have decided already in ages past.' He rolled onto his side and looked at the earth. 'Be you as capricious as you will, oh dirt and filth; you at least alter even as they who trample you beneath their feet. Better to pray to the mud, then,' he said with a sneer. 'For if the gods above help us not, then to whom shall we look? Even as men look up to the heavens, so do the heavens look up to the earth.'
When the sun's first influence was discernible upon the land, Agonas rose and jogged into the village of Thedsin. His appearance seemed to send the brown haired inhabitants into a panic, as only Agonas and Dalta, among the lords of Ilvas, had such coal-dark hair. Some bowed in submission, knowing that it meant that some lord of
the North had come to them. Others just fled at his sight. He found a horse with ease, and his attempt to pay for it with gold was thwarted by an insistent grunt. 'Nay my lord; death first, before I take gold from the Kings.'
Agonas looked at the man in amazement. 'Then take my thanks at least,' he said. 'And I shall not forget the kindness of Thedsin.'
He rode this horse a little more carefully, allowing it stop and rest periodically. He made sure to give it time to eat and he kept near to the river so that the horse could drink its fill of water.
After five days at this pace he came to a place called the Bend, where the Esse River departed from its southward descent, carving its way eastward for nearly twenty leagues. Agonas knew that this meant that he was very nearly parallel to the city of Sunlan itself. 'I just hope that Pelas has not attacked any elves. The men of Sunlan will forgive any transgression, so long as no immortal blood is spilt. But if Pelas has been unfortunate enough to have encountered the elves, there is nothing I can do.'
He took comfort in the fact that Pelas' army would undoubtedly march much slower than a single rider. 'If I do not reach him in time,' Agonas acknowledged, 'then I have no home, either in Alwan, Ilvas or Sunlan.'
The land into which he had come was populated only sparsely. The people shared no traditions with the Lupith or the Essenes, from which Agonas gathered that they were their own distinct race of men. But they were few and simple, and untroubled by the lords of Sunlan and Alwan alike. Among these people Agonas went unnoticed. They were not wholly unaccustomed to such strangers, as their land was the favorite route for all sorts of criminals, dissidents and spies. But they had learned to think nothing of it, and that ignoring such strangers brought them less trouble than minding them.
He bought some dried meat and paid handsomely for a new horse. The people were happy to receive his gold and even happier when he left without further troubling them. Aside from his purchases, the only conversation he had was when he asked by what means one might cross the Esse.
This question was met with looks such as one would find among those whose suspicions were confirmed. In as few words as possible, an older man explained to him that there was a water fall and a lake due east, and that the water, two leagues to the south, was shallow. 'One might walk the greater part of it, if they could withstand the current, and a strong horse could swim what remains.'
Agonas thanked them and left as soon as he was able, not wanting to trouble them any further than was necessary. It was nearly midnight when at last he came to the falls, so he set a fire and had a meal by the lakeside. Through all the ages that would follow, that night he would remember as the most peaceful time in his life. He lay for hours listening to the distant roar of the falls and hearing to the splash of fish as they leaped into the air after flies.
Morning came too fast, though, and then he was off, searching for the place the old man had mentioned. Just as he became convinced that he had gone too far, and that the old man meant to drown him, he discovered a narrow portion of the river where the stones could easily be seen. The current was strong, and it took a great deal of coaxing for him to get his horse to enter into the cold stream. But in the end he managed the crossing without difficulty, save for a few moments when he thought the current would carry the horse away from the shallows. The horse proved itself to be an intelligent animal, and the two of them made it at last to the land of Sunlan.
After a brief rest, Agonas again mounted the horse and rode with as fast as he was able into the east. He rode along the southern border of the Ancient Forest, knowing that at the eastern border he would find the King's Road, by which he might approach Sunlan Palace from the south. He was spotted by some sentries, but his horsemanship was far greater than theirs, and he left them far behind, coming to the great stone road just as evening fell. He rode through the night, trusting his horse to navigate the subtle turns of the stone road, occasionally prompting the animal back onto the stones when he heard the sound of grass or dirt beneath its hooves. In this way he came, by the time dawn arose, to the southern gates of Sunlan. He sued for an audience at the first sight of a guard. 'I am an ambassador of Ilvas!' he declared. 'I come with tidings of great urgency.'
They hurried him to a guard tower, where he was greeted by a captain of their guards, a tall brown haired elf named Uniroth.
'Have you any sign or proof of your commission?' he said, after listening to Agonas' plea.
'I am Agonas, the son of Parganas, King of Alwan,' he said, hoping the mere tone of his voice would serve as proof enough. This seemed to affect Uniroth somewhat, for he sent a courier to the palace, to seek council.
Much to his surprise, Unijan himself, the eldest son of King Ijjan, came to the guard tower. 'Hail son of Parganas!' he said in a booming voice. He wore a white tunic and gold armor. A crimson cloak was about his shoulders, and a steel sword hung naked at his side. It was, Agonas thought, armor such as one might wear in a parade, but not in battle. He assured himself that, had the men of Sunlan perceived his coming as a sign of peril, that Unijan would have garbed himself in his dwarf-steel armor, the fame of which had attached itself to his very name.
'Hail, Prince Unijan,' Agonas replied, remembering his ancient lessons in diplomacy. He laughed within himself as he recalled how seriously Pelas had taken such things, and how it was, in fact, he who had need of them.
'You know as well as I, my lord,' Agonas said in a submissive tone, 'how the lords of the west are wont to send their sons to their deaths on Doom Paths. So it has been with us. But as we have not seen fit to betray our neighbors the elves of Sunlan, our father has judged it necessary to march against us, and to make an end of us where Fate herself has failed him.'
'Knowing that we are as nothing before Lord Parganas,' Agonas continued, 'we therefore have fled our hiding place in the North, and we sue for peace and safety within your borders. If we might find grace in your eyes, please, my lord, let us serve you.'
Unijan rose up to his full height, standing nearly half a head taller than Agonas. 'Is that a blade of steel?' he asked Agonas, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.
'It is, my lord,' Agonas said, handing the blade to Unijan. The Prince took the sword and examined it. 'I have not seen its like in many years,' he said with a puzzled look upon his face. 'We used to get such blades from the dwarves, but they have ceased trading with us for the time being, as their fickle nature requires.'
He paused for a moment as he examined the blade. 'I did not know that Ilvas had dealings with the dwarves.'
'We have not,' Agonas said quite honestly. 'But we have had dealings with some of the merchants who travel from Sunlan.'
'I see,' Unijan said, nodding understandingly and returning the blade to Agonas.
Within the hour Agonas found himself kneeling before the throne of Ijjan himself, who was robed in purple with a golden crown upon his head. 'May the goddess Evnai bless you with eternal health,' Agonas said, touching his forehead to the marble floor of Ijjan's Grand Hall.
Seated at his right was the queen, a woman with sharp features and golden hair. Her appearance was very different from that of Ijjan, whose face was soft and kind. Indra, who stood beside her father in a long silk dress with bare sleeves, was a perfect mix of the two, the sharpness of her mother's nose was tempered by the round features of her father, but not lost.
Agonas avoided her gaze for as long as he was able, but she stared at him unblinking until at last, when he chanced a look at her, their eyes met, not for the first time. His heart sank, for he knew that it was within her power to destroy him, even as he lay prostrate before her father. Unijan seemed to notice this, and fidgeted within his armor, laying his observation aside for the present.
When his tale had been told in full before Ijjan's court, the king rose from his seat. Every knee touched the ground as the noble lord of Sunlan stepped from his throne. He stepped carefully from the dais upon which the royal family usually remained, and approached
Agonas. 'Rise son,' he said, extending his hand toward Agonas.
Agonas rose, though he was careful to keep his head bowed low.
'If your people will swear their loyalty before the goddess of Sunlan, then we shall welcome you as brothers. You need not fear the devices of your father in our land, for our steel and our wealth are greater than his iron and his tyranny. I have, as you shall soon learn, many sons, none of whom I have betrayed to their deaths to preserve my own authority. They are happy, and I am safe, for I do not rule with an evil hand.'
'I thank you, my lord,' Agonas said, and then with some urgency he said, 'I am afraid, my king, that the people of Sunlan, not expecting the arrival of so many strong men, will challenge them at arms. I do not wish for any man or elf to be slain, either among our own people nor among the people of Sunlan. Let me, therefore, ride into the north with an envoy of your court, that we may welcome them properly.'
'So it shall be done,' Ijjan said cheerfully.