Beyond the Mists of Katura

Chapter 25

Takaar could sense it but he could not divine any way to access it, though he was convinced he was standing on the doorway. He had sensed these sorts of energies before, three thousand and more years ago on Hausolis when he had triggered the gateway to Calaius. It had been a mystery to him then and it remained frustratingly so now.

Down there, because it felt like ‘down’, was a small room in a wholly different dimension to Balaia. Enormous energy swirled and played within its tight boundaries, the merest tendrils of which leaked up through the doorway. Takaar had traced its outlines in the dust and could sense residual human magical force lingering there. They had come close, the Julatsans, far closer than the Xeteskians, who had been looking in entirely the wrong place.

‘If only I had known you.’ Takaar knelt on the opening and let his tears fall in the dust. ‘Such dreams we could have shared. We were only separated by a stretch of water yet had no knowledge of one another. The two greatest minds in magic ignorant of the greatest gift either of them could possess — each other.’

It’s good to see your opinion of yourself hasn’t suffered at all even though every one of your followers has deserted you.

‘It is a tragedy that has blighted the history of man and elf,’ said Takaar, stroking the hidden doorway and smearing his tears across the dust. ‘Together, we could have done such great things.’

Made something even more devastating than Dawnthief, you mean?

‘Like the rest of them, you don’t understand. A meeting of such minds could have solved so many problems, proved the existence of our gods, cured disease, brought comfort to every soul living here and on Calaius.’

Such modest ambitions.

‘Stop your mewling complaints!’ thundered Takaar. He stood and clutched at his head. His blood roared around his skull. ‘Get out of me! What use have I for you? Seeking to bring me down all the time, criticising even my dreams. You are hated, despised. Get out! I want nothing more to do with you.’

But I am you.

‘NO! Without you I could soar. Live free of pain and doubt. I could realise my dreams, surpass them and become the elf I was destined to be. An elf whose name is revered throughout history, whose statue stands in every temple and city. A god among elves, not merely walking with them, as one of them. And you are holding me back.’

Yet it is you, O god of elves, who cannot open a mere door.

Takaar dropped back to the ground and wept, his head in his hands and all his failures crushing his spirit. And this was surely the greatest of them all. Just a door, and he couldn’t open it. Like a child trying for a latch beyond reach he could only stare in frustration. But a child would grow taller and the task be rendered simple, whereas this would remain impenetrable without the man who had locked it.

‘There has to be a way.’

He dug at the ground with his fingers and he could see in his mind the shovels that had been used in this place, fruitlessly digging ever deeper. He laughed at their pathetic attempts and their lack of basic understanding. They could dig for miles but the door would not be revealed because it existed elsewhere. Nothing would open it.

‘And you died without revealing your secrets. Took them with you because the world was not worthy of them. I would have held them for you. And I have secrets of my own that I would have shared with you because only you would understand them.’

You’re so sure he died?

The tone was so gentle it made Takaar start. He frowned, having to think for a moment.

‘Surely there can be no doubt of that? He either perished down there or in the inferno that took this place. And with him went so much spirit.’

So what will you do?

‘What is there to do?’

Septern saved the world when he died. He took the secrets of Dawnthief with him, and they will never be recovered.

‘But look at what was lost! All that he could have given to the world went with him.’

He made a judgement and he was proved right. We are not ready for the power that Dawnthief represents. Wars are being fought over it, even though none possess it.

‘It should have brought peace,’ said Takaar, weeping again, but this time he felt only sadness, not frustration. ‘Why won’t they understand?’

Men only see the weapon, not the knowledge that built it.

‘They will never stop looking for it, will they?’

And they will never be ready to possess it.

Takaar raised his head. The day was chill but fresh and the sun was burning away thin cloud. He stood up and walked about the ruins of the Manse, following the latent energies, visualising the building as it would once have been, pulsing with life, vibrant with learning. Just like Herendeneth. The desire to return there was so strong, but it was here that the future would be decided, not in the classrooms he had built.

You want to be remembered?

‘Revered not reviled. There is no path to the former.’

Self-pity has weakened you so much?

‘I don’t understand.’

You can stop this war. You can turn it; you can weaken the Wytch Lords.

‘Still trying to get me to kill myself?’

I have never stopped, well maybe once or twice I desired life over your death, but that isn’t the point. I know the likely cost, but it is for you to decide. Scratch in the mud here or become the elf you say you want to be in life or death.

‘But all my knowledge, all I have learned but not yet passed on. .’

Septern made his choice. You will have to make yours.

‘Get them up, get them up!’ shouted Stein. ‘Mages to me! Faster! Move like bloody lightning.’

Every moment he expected the dull impact, the flash of heat or ice and the end of his life in a brief screaming agony, even though he knew the enemy were not quite ready to cast yet.

‘Pair off!’ he called. ‘Lowest first, never mind the TaiGethen. Parilas, with me.’

Stein and Parilas swooped down to the lowest and slowest Il-Aryn.

‘We’re picking you off one by one. Be ready, don’t struggle and don’t tense up. We won’t drop you, I promise.’

The pair hovered behind an Il-Aryn, picked her off by her wrists and climbed hard, the wall rushing by in front of them. Up they climbed to the point where the incline became far shallower and the elves could sit above any casting, safe until they set off again.

They dropped the mage a few feet to the bare rock and flew back down, passing more mage pairs flying rescue missions. He saw the TaiGethen urging the highest climbers to greater efforts, practically pushing some of them up and out of range. Out on the approach the wards had all been divined and enough made safe. The Xeteskians were streaming through a single point and fanning out immediately they were inside the arcs.

‘One more trip!’ he called to Parilas.

The elven mage nodded his head and they powered down again. The Xeteskians were all but ready now; Stein could feel mana streams intensifying as they were drawn into multiple constructs. The remaining few Il-Aryn were scrambling up in panic now and arrows were starting to flick off the mountain.

Stein and Parilas reached their target and hauled him unceremoniously off the wall, surging up at prodigious speed. He was dropped safely next to his people. Others had made the entire climb and with them came most of the TaiGethen.

‘We need to try one more,’ said Parilas.

‘One more,’ agreed Stein.

They plunged down the wall. Mage pairs were still diving below them, grabbing Il-Aryn and darting back up into the sky. At a shout from the Xeteskian commander, the archers fell back. Moments later, the castings arced out.

Stein and Parilas drove their wings forward hard, braking their descents. Orbs of fire, at least thirty of them, crashed into the wall about forty feet up, each one amplifying the power of the last. A great wave of flame washed up the side of the mountain. It travelled at horrific speed, consuming a mage pair and their Il-Aryn passenger, turning them to ash in its wake. More were on the wall and would be taken.

Up it rolled, a hundred feet, two hundred feet, three-

‘Tilman,’ breathed Stein, then he shouted. ‘Tilman!’

Stein broke from Parilas and powered towards the ledge where he had left the boy thinking he was safe. But the fire wave would wash over his perch and he was helpless to move. Stein shot across the mountain, the heat travelling above the wave making everything hazy in front of him. It threatened to choke the air from him and vaporise the wings at his back, but he would not turn from his promise to keep the boy safe.

Stein was forced higher as the wave ascended. He looked down towards the ledge and saw it engulfed in fire just before the casting lost its force and began to fall back. He screamed his sorrow and anger, and his guilt rose in his throat, erupting as anguished cries.

Stein braked, staring at the ledge, unable to deny the image of poor Tilman wailing for help while his death roared up to steal him from the mountain. He rose slowly, but then he saw a figure moving carefully up the wall, crabbing left to where the incline began to ease.

He flew in to see if he could help, and as he closed in, the warmth flooded back into his heart. There was Auum, climbing with all the confidence of a TaiGethen born to the trees and with the strength and agility a man could only achieve in his dreams. And on his back, arms around his neck and with that one boot still in his hand, was Tilman.

Stein flew in close, his relief momentarily robbing him of words. Tilman noticed him and turned his head.

‘It was getting a little warm waiting for you so I hitched a ride with Auum.’

‘A wise choice,’ said Stein. ‘Thank you, Auum.’

‘I didn’t spend all that time saving his life on the ground just to let them cook him on the ledge,’ said Auum a little breathlessly. ‘How did we do?’

‘We couldn’t save everyone,’ said Stein. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Why didn’t we fly them up earlier?’ asked Tilman.

‘Because the Xeteskian fliers would have picked us off. We’d have lost twice the number,’ said Stein.

Auum nodded. ‘Come on. Let’s get to level ground and see who we’ve got left.’

The truth was that it could have been much worse. For all Stein’s guilt at not saving everyone, had he not risked his life and asked his fliers to do the same, the fifty Il-Aryn who were safe and well on the gentle slope leading to the ridge would have numbered thirty or less. They’d lost fourteen mages along with three Julatsan elves. It was a cause for sadness, for prayer and lamentation but, given their parlous position, not a disaster.

Auum sat with Ulysan and Grafyrre while others of the TaiGethen moved among the Il-Aryn, offering congratulations and seeing they were comfortable enough on their perch. They had their backs to the ridge and were looking out over Balaia.

‘How high up are we?’ asked Ulysan

‘About nine hundred feet,’ said Auum. ‘We’ve barely scratched this mountain.’

‘Feels colder already, doesn’t it?’ said Grafyrre.

He was right. There was a wind blowing from the west, and it brought with it the chill air of the mountain peaks and the snow and ice Stein had promised them. It was a gusting breeze, picking at hair and clothing. Auum was not looking forward to walking into its teeth.

‘Do you think it’ll look any better the higher up we go?’ asked Ulysan. ‘I mean, look at it; it’s so empty.’

Auum smiled. There was so much open ground, which undulated pleasantly enough and was all the shades of green and brown you could wish for, but it was so plain. There were trees, there was even a sizeable forest dead ahead, though in comparison to the glory of Calaius perhaps three drops in the sea. But it was a forest nonetheless.

But what dominated Auum’s attention way beyond the far shores of Triverne Lake were four great smudges on the land, one of which partly obscured the forest they could see.

‘I wonder if those are-’ he began.

‘They are,’ said Stein wandering up behind them. ‘Those are our beloved colleges, wreathed in the fog of human existence. From left to right: Julatsa, Dordover, Lystern, Xetesk, the latter conveniently the closest to Understone Pass.’

‘How far is Xetesk from the pass?’ asked Grafyrre.

‘About a day’s ride. It’s thirty-five or forty miles. Just a morning trot for the TaiGethen. Whoa! What the hell do they want?’

A trio of Xeteskian mages had appeared above the rock wall and were flying towards them at a gentle pace, high enough to avoid jaqrui and spell. Coming closer, they waved a white piece of cloth. Stein looked at Auum.

‘What do you think?’

‘Don’t ask him,’ said Ulysan. ‘He beheaded the last man who offered him a parley.’

‘The beheading was some time after the parley and he was trying to kill me,’ said Auum.

‘Just saying,’ said Ulysan.

‘So. .?’ said Stein.

‘They can talk to you if they want,’ said Auum. ‘I have nothing to say to those bastards. Just remind them I’m faster than any casting they might think to unleash. Do you want to talk to them?’

Stein shrugged. ‘A little taunting never hurts.’

Stein walked a little downslope, waiting some forty yards from the edge of the wall for the Xeteskians to land. The three men were all young and strong, landing and walking with an arrogant air. Skullcaps were tight about their heads, and their cloaks were identically trimmed black with silver stitching — junior mages.

‘Nice place you’ve got here,’ said the central one, walking slightly ahead of the others.

‘What do you want?’ asked Stein. ‘I have no time for chat.’

‘We’ve come to offer you custody and safe passage to Xetesk, where you will be treated with respect until the conflict is resolved.’

Stein glanced behind him. Auum, Ulysan and Grafyrre were all standing and much of the group was bunched up behind them, wanting to hear.

‘I am long since past believing the words of any representative of Xetesk. I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time.’

‘You will all die up here,’ said the second of them, his tone sneering.

‘We take a different view, but thank you for your concern. Is there anything else?’

‘Your water is finite, your food too and your cover non-existent. Unless you’re planning to build houses up here and plant crops, we will outlast you, and our offer will not stand when you come crawling back down the wall,’ said the first.

‘The place has lovely views, don’t you think?’ said Stein. ‘From here we’ll be able to see the Wesman hordes swarm about your college when the Wytch Lords betray your perverse alliance. It is you who have little time, if you ask me. We’ll take our chances here.’

‘You must agree to our terms,’ said the third. ‘It is your only chance to live.’

‘Ah, of course, you were told to leave none of us alive, weren’t you? No one to tell the tale of your betrayal. That bird has flown, my friends, but don’t worry. Julatsa has no intention of attacking you. We will bide our time until the war is done and the reckoning starts.’

‘We will win the war,’ said the first.

‘Well, we’ll see, won’t we? Now let me be clear: we are not going to surrender to you.’

‘Then starve on your mountainside,’ said the first.

All three took wing and flew away, and Stein roared with laughter. By the time he’d walked back to Auum, he had the ear of every elf.

‘They think we are staying here until they go,’ he said. ‘They think we’re going to try and wait them out. Oh, they are so predictable.’

‘Will they attack again?’ asked Grafyrre.

‘Not up here,’ said Stein. ‘They’re blustering now. They’ll watch us go, and our departure will light a lantern in the dim recesses of their minds, but by the time they realise what we’re doing it will already be too late.’

‘That reminds me, Ulysan,’ said Auum. ‘Did Ephemere contact the ships?’

‘She did, and Takaar isn’t there, at least, not yet.’

Stein saw Auum frown.

‘It isn’t that far, not for running elves. Unless he’s dead, he has to have made it, unless. . Stein, draw me a line from Julatsa to Korina and tell me what you pass close to on the way.’

Stein knew what he was talking about, what Takaar desired.

‘The Septern Manse is the most notable landmark.’

Auum chuckled. ‘That mad old bastard, I never really doubted he’d persuade Gilderon to make a detour. I wonder what havoc he’s wreaked there, him and his Senserii.’

‘But is he still there now, do you think?’ mused Ulysan.

‘One thing I promise you,’ said Auum, ‘he won’t be heading for the ships.’

‘And probably won’t be rushing to our aid either,’ said Ulysan.

Auum shrugged. ‘We’ve got this far.’

‘So we have,’ said Stein. ‘And now it’s time to get going. It’s a long slow walk to the next resting place, and we don’t want to be on that ridge in the dark.’

‘Doesn’t bother us,’ said Ulysan.

Stein rolled his eyes.

‘All right then, I don’t want to be on the ridge in the dark. Come on, I’m bored with the view anyway.’