Esra (31 page)

       “Hopefully?”  Esra raised her eyebrows.

       “Yes, hopefully.  Ye must remember that we have not attempted te communicate with the Unni in almost a hundred years, so we must be very cautious, as they will most certainly be suspicious.  In the event that anything should go wrong, please don’t say anything and just follow my lead.  I will most likely be the one able te exchange a few successful words with the scouts since I am part Unni.  And Arland will do what he can te help ease the situation with his skills.”

       Esra glanced over at Arland who was looking at the ground, deep in thought.  She remembered that Nor, the Great Keeper of Strength, had told her there was a story behind why Humans were now shunned by the Unni people.

       “What happened?” She asked tentatively.  “A hundred years ago, I mean?  Why do they hate us so much?”

       Everyone was silent for a long moment before Nadia began to speak.

       “Hundreds of years ago, when the Stronghold was still being used by all the races fer learning, Baelin’s grandfather was the Unni-se, chief of his race.  His first wife was a strong Unni warrior who had borne him a son they named Zakai.  After her early death the chief fell in love with a Human woman and decided to take her as his second wife.  Marrying a Human was something that had never happened before in the history of their kind, at least not fer a chief.  Marriage is considered a spiritual as well as physical journey, so once an Unni takes a wife or husband, they very rarely ever take another unless they are widowed.  Most did not mind the mingling of the races, as this was still a time of peace and sharing, when the Stronghold was being used fer the exchange of knowledge.  And Baelin’s grandmother was a greatly respected Human among the Unni, even before she was married to the chief.   But there were a handful who were angry at the Unni-se fer what they saw as a weakening of the blood lines.  Baelin’s grandfather also knew that his Human wife would not live nearly as long as an Unni woman, who as ye know can live to be almost a thousand, but he loved her very deeply and accepted this fate.

        “The chief’s Human wife gave birth to a half-Unni son who would later become Baelin’s father.  The full blooded older brother Zakai resented this new addition to his family, but this was due mostly to grief from the loss of his own mother, not hatred fer his new family.  At about this time the thirty first King came into his reign, King Rїvan.  I assume that Cane told ye about his treachery and how he stole the throne from his older brother Prince Haylore?”

       Esra thought back to the vivid account of LeVara’s history that Cane had told her a lifetime ago.  The story of a vicious younger brother, about the murdering of women and children.   The poisoning of The Naduri River that killed an entire army and its peaceful King.

       “Yes, he told me.”

       “Well, King Rїvan had been able to kill off most of the Human army and end any resistance when he poisoned the river.  But there was still the Stronghold.  He knew that the races had come together fer centuries now to learn from one another, and that this unity was the one thing that could destroy him.  Not wanting to risk a direct attack so soon, he instead devised a plan to cause trouble in these harmonious relationships.  He would destroy them from within.  And the first step was to capture the Human wife of the Unni-se.

       “Baelin’s grandfather was so distraught about the kidnapping of his beloved new wife that he called upon the aide of the Humans, Shendari and Elves to free his love.  Sensing a trap, a War Council was hastily assembled to discuss the matter, with representatives from the four races in attendance.  There was much debate on whether a rescue should even be attempted, which greatly upset the Unni-se.  The Elves believed we should not rush in to Rїvan’s lair to save one person, as the fate of the entire Kingdom now depended upon our cohesive action.  The Daughter of the Shendari felt that a small group of volunteers should be sent to try and recover the Unni-se’s wife while the rest of the Stronghold members planned fer a war.  And the Humans, angered at all of the murders and treachery that had recently plagued LeVara, wanted revenge.

       “It was normal fer the War Council to disagree.  Healthy debates were always encouraged and there had been battles before, mostly minor ones between tribes.  What
didn’t
normally happen, however, was that the Humans grew tired of waiting and convinced the Unni to join them in launching their own attack on Rїvan before the Council could reach a unified decision.  Many warriors died that day, including the great Unni-se and his wife.  Stricken with grief at the loss of their leaders, the Unni resented the Shendari and Elves fer not aiding in their cause.  The Elves and Shendari were upset at the Humans and Unni fer not respecting the laws of the Council and ruining any chance of a unified attack.  The Humans and Unni continued fighting amongst themselves, as the Unni also blamed the Humans fer convincing them to go.  No matter that it was the Humans who fought alongside them at the attempted rescue.  Some took it even further and decided it was the treachery of a Human wife that had brought this disaster upon their people.  In their blind anger they claimed that the wife of the Unni-se must have used sorcery to seduce their leader, intending all along to lead him to his death.  And wasn’t it also a Human that was causing such chaos in LeVara?  This attitude of mistrust began the slow dissolution of the unity of the races.  Eventually, all of the races returned to their respective homes, full of resentment and mistrust.  And the Keepers emerged in their stead.  They were those who decided to stay at The Gardens and work together.”

       “How did everything go so wrong?”  Esra asked with sadness.

       “They lost track of their true goals.  One mistrust and wrong word led to another, until it grew into something so big that no one could stop it.  It was like a runaway Horse.  That was why the Keepers wrote The Five Laws.  We hope to rebuild what the four races used to share and reclaim the hope that once lived in LeVara.”

       “So what happened to yer father?”  Esra turned to Baelin, who looked up slowly.  The small Fire crackled loudly and he absentmindedly stirred it with his staff.

       “My uncle Zakai decided te take up a wife, a strong Unni woman known fer her unmatched skill in war strategy.  It allowed him te avoid the brunt of the resistance that came from a few of the members who disliked his father’s second marital choice.  Zakai became chief and my father went te live at the Stronghold te become a Keeper.  About five hundred years later the half-Unni that was my father fell in love with a Human woman and decided te take her as his wife.  They were very happy together fer a long time.  Like my grandfather, he was a very dedicated husband.  Tallen killed my mother many years ago when she was discovered te be part of an underground scouting group among his ranks.  She was young then, as I was only a child myself, but she had managed te penetrate deeper into his forces than anyone before her.  My father died a few years later from an illness our most talented healers could neither name nor cure.  I believe it was from a broken heart as he never truly recovered from the loss of his love.”

       “How awful,” Esra admitted bitterly.  She thought of Baelin as a child, first learning that his mother had been killed so senselessly, and then watching his father slowly succumb to the same fate.  “Did ye ever live at Fira Nadim?”

       “When I was a young lad we used te visit.  But once my parents died that stopped.”

       “So that’s why it’s been a hundred years since a Human’s been there.”

       “Aye.”

  “But all this would make Tallen very old though, over a hundred?”

       “Actually, he’s almost two hundred now,” Arland offered.  “No one is quite sure what kind of sorcery he’s using to do it, or if like Baelin he has ancestry in another race.  There are different rumors, one of which is that he was able to capture a Shendari, who as ye know are immortal, and somehow adapt their longevity to his own body.”

       “So then Rїvan murdered yer grandparents hundreds of years ago and then his ancestor, Tallen, killed yer mother?  Ye must want to avenge them.  And how is it that Tallen is a descendant of a King and yet we’ve never heard of him?  Is he related to King Keridon?  ”

       “No, yer current King has none of Rїvan’s blood in him, thank the stars,” Arland answered.  “King Rїvan ruled fer many years, but he was cursed by another fate.  In his greed, he decided to take as Queen the most powerful woman in the country, a great sorcerer named Yuri.  He thought that this would show the absolute power he had over the Kingdom of LeVara.”

       “Wait a minute…Yuri.  That sounds familiar.  She was the enchantress that split the Naduri river into the southern fork when Rїvan poisoned it.  She was a great sorcerer.”

       “Aye, that she was.  The greatest.”

       Fynn leaned over to spoon some stew into his bowl as he chimed in. “What Rїvan didn’t plan fer, was that Yuri was not a woman to be tamed.  Reminds me of ye, Es.  A feisty one, Yuri was.”

       “That would be putting it mildly,” Arland laughed.  “Instead of opposing the marriage, Yuri welcomed it as an opportunity to keep an eye on Rїvan and achieve revenge fer her people.  The King was so conceited that he barely wondered why this beautiful sorcerer that had fought against him so fervently was now so eager to be his wife.  And I daresay the spells she was using helped blind him further.

       “Although Yuri was very powerful, the King had many advisors and scouts in her midst, and she feared she would never have a chance to enact her revenge.  Many Moons went by until the Queen finally announced that she was with child.  The Kingdom mourned silently, thinking that Yuri had finally given up and all had been lost.  The King was overjoyed at the news that two of the most powerful sorcerers in all of LeVara would bear a child.  In his vanity he never questioned Yuri’s devotion to him.  While the Queen was giving birth, she allowed no one but her most trusted maidens and midwives in her private birthing chamber, which was customary practice.  The moment the child was born it was exchanged fer another, the newborn of some simple farming folk with absolutely no magickal background.  And Rїvan’s son was taken far away with another family to be raised in seclusion, never to know who his real parents were.  Yuri had briefly contemplated killing the child, as the threat of him was still so great, but unlike Rїvan she had faith in Humanity and the power of true love.  She hoped that the child would grow to be more like herself than his father in the care of loving people.”

       “So the child that Rїvan thought to be his son was really from common farmers?”

       “Incredible, isn’t it?” Fynn laughed. “Now only the Keepers know the truth, and te this day all the people of LeVara have no idea that their King is of no more royal blood than ye or I.”

       “Jumping jig,” Esra whistled. 

“Yer telling me,” Arland continued. “Rїvan raised his son zealously, not understanding why he could not perform even the simplest of magick when he was the product of two such great sorcerers.  Yuri ensured that the child looked exactly like him, so there was no doubt who was the father, an accusation she anticipated would come to surface otherwise.  After a while it was apparent that the boy had no magickal abilities at all, so Rїvan decided to devote himself instead to having another child.  But Yuri had already ensured that the King would not bear another child, neither with her nor any other maiden.  She had secured her place as Queen with an heir to the throne that had no drop of sorcerer’s blood in his veins.  Rїvan’s most trusted advisors, the Elite Commanders, who were also sorcerers of varying skills, whispered to him of treachery, but the King was too proud to believe that his beautiful wife would betray him.  He was the most powerful sorcerer in LeVara.  He had killed a King, slaughtered an army, and taken the throne.  What could one woman do against such a man?”

       “There’s his blunder,” Fynn interjected.  “Every man knows not te underestimate the plotting and scheming power of a woman.  ‘Specially a pretty one.”

       “So then what happened to Rїvan’s real son?”  Esra asked Arland.

       “Well, the King lost interest in trying to teach a son who could not learn magick, and focused all of his attention on the fruitless task of producing another heir.  He became obsessed with it, his frustration growing as time passed.  Luckily, this left most of the child rearing to Yuri, who had ensured that the child’s nursemaids were of her own choosing, her most trusted apprentices.  This was not a happy time in the palace, as the King was rageful at his bad luck.  The Elite Commanders suspicions were heightened, as they were sure that the Queen was deceiving them, but they could find no proof.  Although they rarely left the mother alone with her child, Yuri was able to steal small moments to try and teach her adopted son of honor and truth and compassion.  Far away in the country, Rїvan’s real son grew older feeling that there was something out of place in his life, that he didn’t quite belong.  His parents were simple people, kind and loving, but he knew that there was a power in him they could not explain.  A darkness that threatened to overcome him.

       “Years later the King finally perished from an unknown illness, Yuri’s doing if ye ask me, and Rїvan’s loyal advisors mourned his death.  Frightened that this would signal the end of their claim to power, as it was apparent to them that the Prince could be no son of Rїvan, they went in search of a common man they had heard had been experiencing strange and powerful bursts of magickal abilities.  They found him, a farmer planting fields in the hot Sun, and he hesitantly explained to them the nature of his uncontrollable magickal events.  The resemblance to his father was indisputable, as if King Rїvan himself stood before them.  There was a mixture of excitement over finding their beloved King’s heir and contempt fer the woman they knew had deceived them fer many years.  The Commanders then attempted to explain to the boy the nature of his history.  Wanting to believe he was a great sorcerer and heir to the stolen throne but unconvinced by the babbling of old men, the advisors went about to prove his heritage and magickal skills.