The Chosen (25 page)
The king began by complimenting Seth’s achievement, as well as Borrik's new appearance. But eventually he asked about the men’s abilities, and finally their loyalties. Seth was forced to lie again, telling the king that the men took their orders from Borrik, which was true, and that Borrik served Seth, also true. He left out the part about the men serving him as their deity, and instead substituted how he would relay the king’s orders to Borrik and through Borrik to the men. The king showed no discomfort, as that was precisely how his military worked. The king gave orders to the generals, who gave orders to their captains, and so on down the line went the orders to the lowliest man. Seth informed the king that he intended to visit the wolf men to get a feel for them in person, and the king, supporting his decision, assured Seth that he would delay the departure from camp if the need arose until Seth had returned. Then the king strode off to attend to whatever other business he had.
Seth and Sara awaited Borrik’s return. Only moments later they saw him racing back across the camp, leaping the remains of the previous night's fire and come to a skidding halt before his master. Many heads in the camp swiveled this way and that watching the beast with mixed emotions as he sped to and fro through the camp.
"The men are already approaching, and will meet us just out of eyesight beneath the trees. They requested their armor and weapons so I gathered those as well and placed them at the edge of the woods. They will be arriving any moment." Borrik paused briefly and appeared to be concentrating. "Disregard that, m'lord, the men have already arrived and await your presence patiently," Borrik relayed.
With a nod Seth strode from the camp, heading for the cover of the deep shadows beneath the trees. Sara walked at his side, clinging to his hand in the semi-darkness, and, as they entered the trees, Borrik stooped low and scooped up a large, clanking bundle wrapped in what appeared to be the tattered remains of the tent that had been destroyed the previous night.
Approaching a small clearing just beyond view of their camp, several pairs of feral eyes reflected in the gloom. Reaching out with mental tendrils Seth located all eight of his soldiers in the clearing ahead. Seth marched into the clearing bringing Sara with him, and followed closely by Borrik. Each of Seth’s wolf soldiers stood as a man on hind legs to regard him as he entered the clearing, then, each moving as one, they knelt low to the ground showing their subservience to him. Borrik too bowed low, unable to restrain himself against the will of the pack. Seth simply nodded his understanding and the beasts once again rose.
Borrik had not been mistaken when he had claimed the other men did not look as he did. The similarities were there of course, but Seth’s eight soldiers appeared to be a twisted mockery of what Borrik had become. Their bodies were covered in thick, matted, coarse fur of varying colors and patterns. Though they stood upon their hind legs, they appeared to struggle with the position, their unnaturally curved spines making them appear hunch-backed and their shoulders caved inward toward their chests. The beasts did not have the human definition in their hands either. They still had individual fingers, though they were stubby and covered with tough pads and ended in claws. Their feet looked much like Borrik’s though it was hard to make the determination with such thick fur covering the finer details. But it was their faces that disturbed Seth the most. Unlike the graceful sweeping forehead, cheek bones and elongated skull that Borrik had assumed after his transformation, these creatures looked like a taxidermist's nightmare. Their heads kept the majority of their human bone structure, but jutting out from their faces were long, pointed muzzles very much like those of wolves, as if the human and wolf had been cut apart like a puzzle and stitched together unnaturally. Their eyes, like Borrik's, had changed but the gazes of these men looked wild; barely constrained ferocity glinted in their eyes. Seth was unafraid of the creatures, knowing they could not bring themselves to harm their creator, but he also knew that these men would never again be accepted by the others in camp. Though blending the men with beasts had succeeded, Seth was sorely disappointed at the results of his effort, and decided at the earliest opportunity he would make it right. All Seth needed were some orcs.
Realizing the armor Borrik had brought would be ill-fitting, Seth told his men to wear what they could and carry the rest with them. He then instructed them to travel parallel to the main path, through the forest, and dispatch any danger they might find along the way. But quickly amending this order, Seth told his wolf men that if they spotted any orcs ranging through the forest, to try and subdue them, keep them alive and bring them to him personally. Seth knew from experience that the enemy army they faced had sent raiding parties into the human lands on several occasions. He had nearly died protecting Sara from the remnants of one such party. Finally, Seth ordered Borrik to stay with his men for the time being, and to report to him every couple of hours, regardless if they had encountered anything unusual or not. Borrik agreed to his master’s wishes, and watched as Seth and Sara departed, each of the wolf men hanging their heads in reverence to their living creator.
Seth and Sara hurried back to camp only to discover it had been completely dismantled in their absence. Most of the king's retinue was already mounted, or in the process of doing so. As they approached, Garret, seated upon his own imperial mount, separated from the milling throng of riders and brought Seth and Sara’s horses to them. Their equipment had already been stowed in their mounts' saddle bags, and their packs clung to the pommels upon the horses’ saddles. Garret invited Seth and Sara both to ride with him this day so that they could have some time to talk, having already cleared the arrangement with the king. Seth happily agreed, as did Sara, hoping for some sense of normalcy in their lives that seemed to be becoming more and more complex. Moments later the contingent formed up and began another day's journey, Seth and Sara joining Garret as rear guard.
The morning went by smoothly, and acting as rear guard gave the three the freedom to discuss their thoughts about their personal positions without anyone overhearing. Garret was elated to finally have a chance to relay the story of his blessing in detail to his brother. Talking about his stamina and weapons training, Seth could hear the joy in his brother's voice, but was concerned to find out that Garret was actually looking forward to the battle that lay ahead. Learning that both Garret and Zorbin had been blessed with unique abilities above and beyond those of the other Knights of Valdadore was a fact that surprised Seth, but also reminded him that there was more than mortal lives and power tied to the outcome of the battle. From time to time, as his brother spoke, Seth or Sara would ask questions for further explanation, and Garret would fill in the details he had forgotten before continuing.
After hearing Garret's tale, Seth and Sara worked together to recreate all they had been through since the day of The Choosing ceremony till now, each often interrupting the other to interject some forgotten portion of the story. As they told their tale, Seth could not believe how much his life had changed in a couple months. In retrospect it seemed as if the story he told was of someone else. Seth too told his brother of the odd circumstances that led to his becoming "blessed", his varying degrees of uncertainty concerning his abilities, and the reasoning of the goddess choosing him.
While telling the tale Seth could not help but feel overwhelmed. Before he had left home his responsibilities were limited to helping out around the inn, hunting for food and assisting the neighbors when they needed a strong back to perform some task or another. However, since leaving home, Seth had taken on responsibility for Sara’s protection, and had been blessed with what could only be described as the power over life and death, which was another huge responsibility. Also Seth was accountable for looking out for Borrik who had sworn his life to Seth. And now Seth was also burdened with starting a new order of magicians, being council to the king, leading the new wolf soldiers, and on top of all that, Seth knew that a battle lay little more than a day in the future, a battle in which the king had stated the difference between loss and victory might be decided by him. So in reality Seth was answerable for the lives of all those in the Valdadorian army, as well for as the continued survival of the kingdom and for the lives of all the innocents in their homes if he was not capable to be the mage the king hoped he was and all was lost. Seth felt as if he might explode from everything weighing on his mind.
Seeing his brother’s distraught look in the ensuing silence after Seth’s story was finished, Garret knew what it was that weighed upon his twin’s conscience.
"Try and look at things this way, Seth," Garret suggested. "Nothing now will be able to separate you and Sara. On top of that, you already have an established home for her, complete with servants and enough money to buy her all her heart's desires. From what I saw this morning, though you may feel responsible for him, your friend Borrik looks quite capable of looking out for himself. Also I should like to add that you now hold the ear of the king. You have the opportunity to make things better for everybody, just by speaking directly to the man who makes the rules. For all the gods' sakes Seth, if you’re worried about the battle remember this; you now command a unit of troops unlike any other in the world. They can protect you. On top of your own abilities they are akin to another of your powers, an extension of your power so to speak. It is up to all of us to fight well, to hold our own. It is up to the king to come up with the right strategies. It is up to the generals to lead their troops successfully and it is up to the troops to follow their orders precisely. None of them can falter. You may be expected to play some larger-than-life role in this battle, bro, but its conclusion rests upon the shoulders of everyone upon the field, not yours alone. Besides, you can’t take all the credit. After we've won the battle, I want to have songs sung about me for ages and ages too!"
Seth couldn’t help but to smile at his brother's jest. Garret had a way of finding a positive angle from which to view the world, even in the direst of situations. Seth knew his brother was right, at least partially so, but he also felt deeply that Ishanya had foreseen the battle ahead and had given him the powers he now possessed as a means for her to accumulate followers. But what seemed more than just a bad omen to Seth was the fact that the only way the goddess would be able to recover that power from her new followers quickly was if they were slaughtered. It would be a balancing act of the most unbelievable kind for Seth. He didn't want to play into the hands of the goddess as she intended, yet he knew he had to hold to their bargain in order to have a possibility of success in the battle ahead. He could perform great deeds and thereby gather her more and more followers, who, as they aged, would slowly feed their ever waning life force back to Ishanya. But Seth had a sinking feeling that the goddess did not desire a slow, ebbing flow of power, and as such Seth knew that not only did he need to convert people to the worship of the goddess, but he must also do his best to keep them alive. If Seth managed to establish a large following to Ishanya, the more he could keep alive, the slower the goddess would regain her power. In contrast, if Ishanya’s new followers fell in battle she would strengthen quickly and possibly no longer require Seth, and thus strip his abilities from him.
Seth needed his powers. Though to him his abilities were both a blessing and a curse, they were the one thing that had allowed him to make positive changes in his life. Because of his powers, like his brother had said, he now had a home and lands for Sara and himself to settle down on after the battle. So long as Seth served the kingdom they would have money enough to be prosperous. Seth knew too that his power meant he could not only protect himself and Sara, but also anyone near him in need of protection. His abilities were the one thing that lent him courage. While using his power he was more than he had been before becoming blessed. He was confident, mighty beyond measure, a man to be feared and a force to be reckoned with. Without the intoxicating pleasure of the power coursing through him Seth knew that life would be but a shadow of what he knew now. The world would never be as beautiful, and Seth would never again be whole if his abilities were stripped from him. He knew that if he did not find a way to hold onto them, then he would lose everything that he held dear to him, Sara and Garret included. Seth had to find a way to keep Ishanya in need of him, but also a way to twist her plans in order to serve himself.
Riding in silence for an undetermined time, lost in his own thoughts, it was the sound of howling somewhere in the near distance that brought Seth back to the real world. He peered around him, gauging his surroundings. The column of riders still rode through the ancient forest, its branches intertwining hundreds of feet overhead into a near impenetrable canopy. Occasionally a small hole in it allowed a stray beam of sunlight to lance down to the ground to the deep moss or dirt trail which they followed. Seth judged by the angle of one such beam that it was near midday. The air here, deeper within the vast forest, was dank and somewhat stifling. As the horses ahead churned up the soil beneath their hooves the smell of desiccated plant material, rot and fertile earth permeated the air.
It was dark below the great trees, but not overly so as the sunshine filtered through the leaves above them, lending the land below an eerie greenish hue. This far into the forest no sign of bird above or rodent below was evident as they thundered along atop their imperial war horses. Seth could not help but wonder how much further the expanse of this forest could continue when he again heard a howl, this time much closer than previously. As they continued to ride, the ethereal howls came more frequently, sounding from time to time like a great wind blowing through the forest. Everyone in the king's retinue seemed to be seeking the source of the howls, looking this way and that, guiding their mounts to create a tighter formation in case there was some impending assault.