Chains of Mist (50 page)

“Perfectly, my lord. Rest assured, Drogni Ortega no longer plays any role in the machinations of fate. The mantle of destiny has passed on, to be carried by those whose hands will shape the course of the future for us all.”

A pause. “I notice that you use the plural, my friend.”

“Indeed, my lord. Now that the wheels of destiny have been set into motion, the uncertainties that had clouded my visions are beginning to clear. More figures are emerging, though their faces remain shrouded to my sight. I cannot even be certain how many besides Varenn there are—alternately, I have seen as few as one and as many as five. Varenn remains the most prominent among them, and I cannot see the roles that each is destined to play…but they are out there. I shall meditate on this; hopefully, more will soon become clear to me.”

The King pondered those words. Finally, thoughtfully: “Tell me more about the others you saw at Espir.”

“There were eight, my lord, but of them six were mere pawns, loyal footsoldiers whose only purpose was to spend their lives in protection of the last two. One was an old man who wielded power that might exceed my own, and I could not pierce the corridors of his mind. Yet I could feel nothing of evil about him; in the battles to come, he is one of our allies. The other…I sensed the shroud of prophecy about him. It clung to him, swirling cobwebs that confounded my inner sight. This is the man whom Makree gave his life to protect. I believe that they knew each other, in another life.” The black eyes narrowed. “Yet, heed this warning, my lord. When I looked upon this man, I felt a rush of terror such as I have never felt before. I fear him more than I fear Rokan Sellas…but I do not know why. He is one that I must watch closely. I believe that the power he could wield is limitless—but for which side?”

“Surely, if the old man is as powerful and as good as you believe, he would not travel with such a man if he believed him to be a force of evil?”

“Ah, therein lies the problem, my lord. You see, even those people who have been woven into the tapestry of destiny retain their free will, their ability to choose their allegiances and friends. Yet with this man, it is different. He can choose
nothing
—his fate, his life, are no longer his own. He is an instrument, nothing more—neither a force for good nor a force for evil. Simply a force…for whoever is able to wield him.”

A momentary shudder was the only thing that betrayed the King’s emotions. “Then watch him carefully, friend, and report back to me as you are able. There is one final matter. What happens to Varenn, now that this ‘sundering’ is complete?”

A pause, the merest concession of doubt. “For a time, he must pass beyond my sight. The realm to which his soul has gone, even my eyes cannot penetrate, and what will happen to him there I cannot say. In the meantime, his body is in the possession of the enemy—it must be recovered, so that the ritual of sundering can be reversed.”

“Very well. We will assemble a team—”

“No, my lord. That would be a mistake. I do not know where the enemy will take Varenn’s body, but I am certain it will be another place of ancient power—one which no ordinary mortal can survive. Ortega and Forgera survived Espir, but that was only because the enemy decided not to kill them. It would be naïve of us to assume that he would do so again.”

“What, then? Are you volunteering yourself?”

A wry smile. “Hardly. The old man from Espir, I am sure, knows everything that I have just told you, and he is better suited than any of us to intervene. His power, combined with the raw potential of his companion, is far more suited to the task of recovering Varenn than any assortment of common soldiers that we might scrape together.”

Silence. “This is one area that I would normally heed your advice unconditionally, friend. However… Given what you have told me about the man from Espir, who could just as easily be a tool of the enemy as a friend of ours, I simply do not see how I can trust the success of such an important mission to such a man. What if you are wrong about his allegiance? I do not think it would be wise to take that risk.”

“We
must
, my lord.” The words were heavy with urgency and tinged with the faintest ghost of fear. “There is no other way. Anyone we send would surely be destroyed…or worse.”

The King considered. Then: “No, it shall be as I have said. This matter is closed.”

Dark eyes crackled with rage, but the voice was controlled. “In that case, at least grant me this one concession. Send only one person, not a team. One person has a chance, perhaps, to slip through unnoticed. A team has none.”

“Agreed. I know just the person for the job.”

“Please, my lord, this is a mistake. A terrible mistake—you have no
idea
of the risks.”

Now anger flashed in the King’s gaze. “If so, then it is
my
mistake to make, Micaeh. Is that clear?”

“It is…my lord.”

-Epilogue-

Existence was agony. Each breath was torn out as if wrenched by a demon’s claw, and thorns of infernal sorcery set his body and mind on fire. Consciousness was elusive, rising and relaxing, slipping and surging. His ravaged spirit, clinging to the tatters of lucidity, prayed for an end. But it never came. There was only more pain.

It was torture beyond torture—a hell that transcended death.

Faces floated before his sight, but he could not be sure if they were real or a conjuration of the shreds of his sanity. Through the lightning he saw flashes of light clashing against a vortex of shadow. He heard an unfamiliar voice say, “
Don’t die yet,
” and a man with sorrow in his emerald-green eyes turned, plunging headlong towards the confrontation.

A friend from another life appeared, slashing a blade at the shackles of living fire, and he felt a slight pressure on his bonds. But they did not break. His friend cried out, but his words were swept away by the roaring tide of sorcery.

A single thought manifested through the suffering.
Don’t leave me, Austin. Don’t leave me…

But Austin’s face faded away…

Fresh pain erupted, a dagger in his soul. He heard an inhuman laugh, echoing throughout eternity…the sound of nightmares.

All light faded, compressing towards a single point. Darkness reached for him.

His strength gone, Justin Varenn let the darkness take him.

END OF BOOK 2

-Glossary of Espirian Terms-

A’chen’has
: the Great Sea; lies to the far west of Nembane Mountain

A’Cheran
: the Demon Prince

a’di
: a Kastria insult derived from ‘di’ua’; literally ‘one who is without spirit’ (plural = a’dia)

a’kali’a
: a building specifically intended for the housing of foreign visitors to a tribe; literally ‘place of outsiders’ (plural = a’kali’ata)

A’Lai Mar
: the Underworld and home of A’Cheran

bo’al
: a tall, thick grass; produces a sap that is a powerful hallucinogen and is toxic in high quantities

bo’al’kan
: one who has become addicted to bo’al sap (plural = bo’al’kana)

bok’lava
: a mythical substance harder than stone yet lighter than air; the god Ja’nal was said to have a set of detachable wings made of this material

bortath
: a canine carnivore; they are extremely stealthy and highly aggressive, and adult members can run at speeds of up to one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour (plural = bortath’ana)

chakka
: a tiny, almost mindless rodent (plural = chakkata)

chak’rat
: a Traika insult derived from ‘chakka’; literally ‘born of a chakka’s fecal matter’ (plural = chak’rata)

dai’chak’mal
: a Kastria insult derived from ‘dairang’ and ‘chakka’; literally ‘born of the union of a dairang and a chakka’ (plural = dai’chak’malata)

dairang
: a large, bovine herbivore; they have a long frontal horn and keratinous plates protecting their backs, legs, and neck (plural = dairang’ata)

Dar’katal
: the leader of the warriors; the female equivalent is ‘Dar’kata’

Den’ja
: the War Goddess; laid down a series of nine rules of combat

di’ua
: the soul; literally ‘life-essence’ (plural = di’uana)

e’tana
: a trancelike state of enhanced awareness; may be achieved naturally through meditation or artificially through inhalation of hallucinogenic substances like bo’al sap

fai’la’if
: a term describing one who has sworn vengeance against another for a righteous purpose (plural = fai’la’ifa)

feerak
: a short, brittle tree; produces berries that serve as a powerful painkiller

felia
: a unit of time equivalent to about forty minutes (plural = feliai)

fenail
: a huge, feline carnivore with six legs and a thick ridge of bone running across its cheeks and above its eyes; they are extremely territorial and rarely attack Humans (plural = fenail’a)

Ja’nal
: the Sky God; king of the gods

Jo’ma
:
the leader of the to’laka; the male equivalent is ‘Jo’mal’

juraa
: a thick, thorn-covered weed; grows by wrapping itself around the bases of trees and can form vast networks where a single organism spans several square kilometers

Kat’aia
: the Sun Goddess

kat’ara
: a ruling council generally composed of between five and fifteen elders (plural = kat’arai)

Kil’la’ril
: the local word for Nembane Mountain

koffa
: a carnivorous reptile that can reach up to a meter in length and can camouflage itself to nearly any environment; they generally avoid Humans but may attack lone individuals (plural = koffana)

koltala
: a large marine bird with a short, hooked beak; they eat mainly fish and emit a piercing supersonic scream to stun their prey (plural = koltalai)

kopana
: an interjection of amazement

korun
: a unit of distance equivalent to just under two kilometers (plural = korunna)

ko’sha
: the local term for the magical energy contained in all things, which the to’laka can absorb and then release using their own bodies as a conduit

Lai’kar
: the home of the gods

meekar
: a small, herbivorous bird known for its radiant blue-white plumage (plural = meekara)

Meskar
: the Sky Prince; possessed a magic amulet that would erupt with a storm of lightning at its wearer’s death

Sho’nal
: an advisor to the kat’ara; female equivalent is ‘Sho’na’

stefia
: a tall tree that comprises over eighty percent of the forests near Nembane Mountain; has yellow, star-shaped leaves which the chakkata use to make their dens

tar’keta
: a band of warriors generally numbering between ten and twenty (plural = tar’ketala)

terek
: a hawk-like predator that can dive at speeds up to two hundred kilometers per hour; they are very vicious and will attack all other animals on a whim (plural = terekai)

to’lak
: a magic-user (plural = to’laka)

tuari
: a tall, solitary tree that grows amongst the bo’al fields; has a thick upper canopy and very few branches at the lower levels; has no edible fruits and produces heavy seeds that are almost instantly fatal to Human consumption

-Appendix of Species-

Federation Races

Name: Human

Type: Humanoid

Homeworld: Tellaria

Total Population (est.): 65 billion

Name: Denebali

Type: Taurine

Homeworld: Deneb

Total Population (est.): 10 billion