Rise of the TaiGethen

Chapter 10

The rainforest is so utterly vast it is truly difficult for the mind to comprehend. Fly with mages, stand on the highest peak, sail the longest river, and you will achieve some small perspective. The way to truly understand is to walk for day upon unending day in a single direction and after the fiftieth, sixtieth or seventieth day know that you could be only halfway to the other side. Know that you are equally distant from its borders in any other direction. Know that the TaiGethen have trodden every inch of this land and have identified every place in which to kill their enemies. Know that there are an infinite number of such places.

Reminiscences of an Old Soldier, by Garan, sword master of Ysundeneth (retired)

Takaar had run to the eaves of the forest, there to curse his misfortune.

Misfortune? Remember a TaiGethen is never alone.

‘I am no longer TaiGethen and that blade would not enter his neck. Do not ask me why.’

I have no need. Your cowardice rears its head at the most spectacular moments and reduces your strength to that of a dung fly. Oh, the elves must hear of this latest betrayal.

‘You cannot goad me as you once did. And even then I was too strong for you. Did I step from that cliff edge? I did not. You lost this battle decade upon decade ago and still it hurts that you cannot control me.’

I have no desire to control you. Only to see you crawling on your belly like your beloved snakes with the eyes of every true elf upon you, knowing the truth about their erstwhile hero.

‘They already know the truth!’ Takaar’s voice set creatures scurrying deeper into the undergrowth. ‘And they have forgiven me, taken me to their hearts once more and allowed me to work to make them stronger, able to stand proud as men are driven from Calaius.’

Taken you to their hearts, have they? Is that why you run off to Garan the moment something goes wrong? Keener to hear the words of man than of elf when the world darkens?

‘Garan gives more than he takes and this time he has unlocked a secret and opened my eyes. I knew he would turn against Ystormun. I knew he would see man’s invasion for the sacrilege it is.’

‘What has Garan unlocked, exactly?’

Takaar spun as he rose, his twin swords whispering from their sheaths. He counted five, but more were circling him, unseen.

Yniss preserve you, how careless.

Takaar smiled and sheathed his blades.

‘I was expecting you.’

Auum’s expression was bleak. ‘Really? And you always welcome your friends with your blades, do you?’

‘Your approach was quiet, I’ll admit and I was-’

‘Engaged in another conversation. Quite vocally, considering his proximity.’

Takaar heard the whisper of laughter from among the TaiGethen, who were emerging into his small clearing in some numbers. Fifteen of them now.

Don’t let him goad you. He’s goading you, isn’t he?

‘No one is goading me.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said Auum, walking closer.

‘I was not addressing you,’ said Takaar sharply.

‘Clearly,’ said Auum. ‘You and I need to talk. In private. Just the three of us.’

Takaar searched Auum’s face for the humour he was sure would be there, but for some reason it was absent. He felt a moment’s confusion.

Idiot. And I thought you’d be used to people insulting you, laughing behind your back, that sort of thing.

‘I do not like your tone,’ hissed Takaar.

Finally.

Auum walked closer. Takaar could smell the camouflage paint. He turned his head slightly and couldn’t stop his hands wringing together.

‘I do not much care whether you like it or not,’ Auum replied. ‘I care that soon Ysundeneth will once again be full of the corpses of innocent elves and their blood will be on the hands of man.’

Takaar chuckled. ‘It’s good that I’m here, isn’t it?’

‘It is never good that you are anywhere near things that matter. Walk with me.’

Auum made a gesture towards his TaiGethen, who scattered into the new growth that had sprung up in the wake of the wholesale logging near Ysundeneth and the Ultan bridge. Only Auum’s cell remained, and he indicated they stay in place before stalking off into the deeper undergrowth to the south.

Do you think he’ll come back if you just stand here?

‘Why would I do that? I am the bearer of all that is important. He needs me.’

Pathetic. You’re like some snivelling servant, so anxious to please your master. Even for you, this is a new low.

Takaar followed Auum. ‘The elves must survive, all else is secondary.’

You mean all else is secondary to justifying your existence to an elf who once idolised you. At least test him. Prove yourself his better in the one thing he holds most dear. That is the minimum if you are to retain any self-worth.

‘I have no need of such proof.’

No? Do you even remember being one of them?

‘Show yourself and I’ll prove I could still be one.’

I’d laugh, but you killed our sense of humour about a hundred and sixty years ago.

‘Why are you plaguing me?’

Because you always seek me out when you need answers.

‘Enough.’

Takaar moved quickly, following Auum’s footsteps. Thirty paces into the thick of the undergrowth, where the lower level of the canopy swooped towards the ground, Auum had stopped and was facing him. There was a look of disappointment mixed with contempt on his face. He knew what was in Takaar’s mind.

‘Don’t do this,’ said Auum. ‘Do not even attempt it. You know, I always found it admirable that even in your madness and solitude, you still practised the art to its highest degree. When I found you, your skills were unparalleled. But now? You do not train and your mind is fogged with thoughts of magic. You are no longer quick enough to test me.’

Takaar said nothing but Auum’s words wormed deep into his heart. He dropped quickly and swept out a foot. He found clear air. Auum landed hard, dropping a knee onto Takaar’s chest, swiping his arms aside with impressive speed and putting a dagger to his throat.

‘I don’t have time for this,’ said Auum. ‘I need a way into the city and unfortunately that means I need your help.’

Auum moved his knee and stood back. Takaar got to his feet. His mind was darting here and there; his tormentor was ridiculing his combat skills and the magic within him was unsettled, barely under control. He felt a weight in his mind and a powerful sense of injustice. He gripped Auum’s shoulders.

‘What lies inside me is so hard to control. You see. And now I can see a path. We have been blind, you know. Blind to what is in front of us. There is no time to lose. Perhaps then I can release my pain.’

Look at Auum. I’m not the only one who has no idea what you’re talking about.

‘Shut up, shut up, I cannot focus. Auum, my clear moments are so few, but I was clear when Garan spoke to me and I know what he told me. But with every day I get greyer. In my head. We must fight back while there is still time. Do you not see?’

Congratulations. Not a word of sense. Not a single one.

‘I need you to know I am behind you. Every day I am trying to unpick the mysteries of my gift so I can pass it to those who can use it better than I. To try to build a new strength in elves that will allow us to defend ourselves for generations to come.’

Better.

‘I have to find our new practitioners. I can’t wait here. None of them are here, are they? So stop delaying me and let me go.’

Oh dear.

Takaar fell silent. He couldn’t remember a thing he had just said. Auum prised his hands from his shoulders and Takaar felt the crushing strength in the TaiGethen’s fingers before he was released.

‘There is nothing I want more than for you to go, but I have two problems. I think you are unfit to teach the Il-Aryn, but Onelle seems to trust you. And I think you are unfit to help me get into Ysundeneth, but I have no choice but to trust you.’

Sharp, this Auum, isn’t he?

‘I don’t-’

‘Be silent and listen,’ said Auum. ‘If I had my way, you would not be allowed in the same chamber as anyone who might wield the Il-Aryn. You are a menace, you consort with humans and from one heartbeat to the next you do not know what you will think, do or say. That is how I see you, Takaar.

‘But right now you are going to come with me and my people and help us liberate elves from Ysundeneth because if you do not, there will be more blood on your hands. Am I making sense?’

Takaar shook his head. ‘If you go in there, you will all die.’

‘If we don’t, hundreds of innocents will die, the ClawBound have seen to that.’

‘But you can hear nothing, can you?’ asked Takaar.

‘What do you…’

Auum’s expression cleared and he turned towards Ysundeneth. Takaar could feel him willing the forest to silence, tuning out the ambient sounds, straining his hearing towards the city. He stood there for an age, completely still, and Takaar could find it inside him to admire the elf’s focus. Auum breathed in, uncertain.

‘Why is it so silent?’ he whispered.

‘Because there is to be no death within the walls,’ said Takaar. ‘The humans are reserving that for the rainforest.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Your precious ClawBound have not started a wave of revenge with their actions, they have started a war.’

Auum stared at Takaar with fresh interest and Takaar nodded solemnly and challenged his tormentor to say something. Anything. That voice was silent.

‘This had better not be one of your games,’ said Auum.

Takaar shrugged. ‘You do not need to believe me. Ystormun gave me an ultimatum. I have since spoken to the ClawBound and they will not treat with him. And so the humans will come to finish the job the Ynissul unwittingly invited them into do.’

Auum’s stare did not waver but his eyes widened.

‘You spoke to Ystormun.’

‘I tried to kill Ystormun.’

And failed.

‘And failed,’ said Auum. ‘Why? Magic not strong enough? Arm not quick enough?’

‘Contempt does not become one who has not faced this enemy alone.’

You almost sound impressive. A pity you will never get another chance to.

‘So enlighten me. You were in a position to threaten our greatest enemy and yet… what?’

‘He is protected by more than mere magic. My blade would not even nick his skin.’

Auum turned away. ‘Then perhaps you should keep your blades keener.’

‘Do not presume to judge me. I, who have presided over the deaths of so many, am the only one who can judge me.’ Takaar slapped the heel of a palm to his forehead. ‘And in here, in here, I hold the keys to our survival. You can wait until dawn to see the humans march from their city. I must begin my search for those who might, if you can thwart the humans just a little, return us to greatness.’

Auum was back at him, jabbing a finger into his chest. Takaar didn’t want to, but he whimpered at each impact.

‘And there is the root of my problem with you. Always seeking the ultimate glory. Always needing to be a head higher than the rest of us, desperate to feel the adoration that you once felt on Hausolis. Always keeping something back to retain one trembling hand on power.

‘The elves cannot afford to indulge your self-interest. We cannot afford your bloated ego, lusting after times long gone. So go, Takaar. Lose yourself in whatever quest it is you are so compelled to undertake. Chasing more practitioners, is it?’ Auum waved a hand and then pointed back towards Ysundeneth. ‘If the humans are coming then it is not magic in fifty or a hundred years’ time that we need. It is strength and honour and speed and warriors in the next handful of days.’

A blade was at Takaar’s throat and in truth he hadn’t seen Auum draw it.

‘Steel will win this war, if war it is. Man thinks his magic dominates all. But this is my forest. And it is a lonely place in which to die.’

Takaar backed away, and he knew he was shaking and could not control it. He pointed a finger at Auum but it carried no conviction.

‘Garan has already given me one great gift and he will give me another. He has said as much. So dismiss me at your own risk, Auum. I am Takaar. I am still the future.’

The blade was back in its scabbard but Auum was no less intimidating.

‘No, Takaar, you are yesterday’s elf, not tomorrow’s. Take any who love you and leave the rainforest. Find another place to peddle your insanity. The elves have no time or use for magic.’

Takaar opened his mouth to speak but there were no words.

Like I said: sharp, this Auum, isn’t he? Laid you bare with a handful of words.

Tears were flooding down Takaar’s cheeks. He wanted to bellow at Auum that he was wrong. That he had to embrace magic in any form they could because it was as natural as the breath in their lungs and the blood in their veins. But Auum was a warrior. He was TaiGethen. And there was nothing he had to understand that he did not already know.

You’re going to run, aren’t you? Scamper away like a deer with a panther bite in its rump. Another failure. Another act of the most supreme cowardice.

‘You are right and you are wrong, as I will show you.’

‘Are you talking to me?’

Takaar shrugged. ‘I’ll let you decide.’

And Takaar ran.

Koel nursed the barge around the final bends of the River Ix. The river ran below the level of the city, through a rock cleft thirty feet deep, before emerging to join the sea just beyond the river jetties and lumber mills. The flow was fast here, the cleft narrow and treacherous, affected by tides and rainfall like no other stretch of the river. It was a place where the piranha waited under overhangs; a place where elf and animal perished should they take a single careless step and fall into the current. If the river didn’t get them, the piranha would.

Behind Koel, the other two barges made slower progress, with the nets keeping the sodden lumber in place stretched between them, their crews busy fending the vessels away from the rock walls. They had passed the Senserii Approach, which led across the river and into the temple of Shorth, and had been seen by guards, who would ensure they met with a difficult welcome at the mill quay.

Ahead of them, out of sight for a little longer, was the Ultan bridge. Koel breathed the night air, fresh and beautiful, unsullied by the filth of the city. The sky was clear. Gyal rested and her cloud and rain rested with her. He could almost imagine himself free but for the stench of the city, so strong in his memory.

‘Koel.’

Koel stiffened. There should be no one with him at the tiller. He turned. There, on the aft rail, stood Auum. Koel took in his painted face and sensed the determination in him as he stepped lightly onto the deck. None of the others had looked up from their work, he was so silent.

‘Where did you come from?’ asked Koel. Auum’s eyes glanced up. Koel followed his gaze up the cliff. ‘What are you doing here? I thought-’

‘We have come to it already,’ said Auum.

Koel shook his head. ‘To…?’

‘I need you to be as ready as you can be for what is to come.’

‘You’re going to attack?’ Koel couldn’t grasp what had changed in so short a time. ‘Now?’

‘No,’ said Auum. ‘The humans are going to invade the rainforest. That is where the confrontation will happen and, whatever the outcome, you have to find a way to make all enslaved elves ready to fight.’

‘We can prepare,’ said Koel, and he could not stop the smile edging onto his face. ‘We have dreamed of little else.’

Auum regarded him for a moment. ‘I expected you to demand we free you. After all, much of man’s strength will be departing the city.’

‘Aye, but if you do not have the magic to divine wards and traps, it doesn’t matter how many men are guarding us. You’ll still all be killed. Better you take them on in the forest. It’s the chance you’ve dreamed of, isn’t it? Defeat them there and you can free us at your leisure. We’ve waited a hundred and fifty years. We can wait a little longer.’

Auum said nothing.

‘I understand, Auum. Don’t feel conflicted by your decision. To fight them in the forest is the right way.’

Auum nodded his thanks. ‘We will not necessarily win this fight. We will be tens against thousands. Should we win, I will need your people to help sweep the remnants of the human filth from the streets. Should we be defeated, you must kill every man you can when they come for you.

‘Make no mistake: this invasion is designed to rid Calaius of elves. First in the forest and then in the cities.’

Koel sighed. ‘The ClawBound have done this.’

‘They have not helped,’ conceded Auum. ‘But perhaps this gives us a better chance.’

‘Win for us,’ said Koel. ‘I will lead prayers for you each day.’

Auum squeezed Koel’s upper arms.

‘Our blood will come at the highest price.’

‘We will be ready,’ said Koel.

Auum nodded. Koel watched him jump back onto the rail and then onto the cliff face, clinging like a lizard before climbing quickly out of sight.

‘Liun,’ called Koel. ‘We have new work to do.’

Auum was concealed in the bamboo shroud that grew along the sheer bank of the Ix as it approached the Ultan bridge. It was dawn. The bridge guards were uncharacteristically alert, and from within the walls every shout, every clang of metal or movement of a thousand steel-toed shoes spoke of an army preparing to march.

No matter that they probably outnumbered the TaiGethen by a hundred to one; no matter that they had magic to ram home their overwhelming numerical superiority, they would be walking into the jaws of hell. And with the grace of Shorth, Auum would make them pay for every desecrating step they took.

He knew they were coming when a phalanx of mages flew over the bridge and out across the narrow strip of grassland that bordered the ruined rainforest. He counted thirty of them, spreading out to ensure safe passage for the army. They’d flown directly over him and he could see them hovering over at least two TaiGethen cells, placed there to help Auum assess the army as it came past them.

Auum concentrated on the bridge once more. The ground was beginning to vibrate with the approach of Ystormun’s men and over the next two hours they crossed the bridge. Warriors and mages marched to the borders of the forest before turning onto the logging paths that ran alongside the banks of the Ix. Elven slaves among them could be seen carrying heavy packs of equipment, weapons and clothing.

Simultaneously, a fleet of lumber barges was sailing up the river, each packed with soldiers, mages and supplies. Auum bit his lip. He’d expected them to split their forces, but hadn’t thought each part would be of such size. He estimated there were three thousand on foot with a further thousand on board the barges.

Unless the humans had left Ysundeneth largely unguarded, Auum had seriously misjudged the scale of the occupation. What Auum most feared now was that similar armies would also be leaving Tolt Anoor and Deneth Barine, either to join forces or move against the forest on separate fronts.

It begged the question of why this move had not been made before, when the elves were weaker. This could not be solely a reaction to the actions of the ClawBound, though surely they were a factor. Something had changed; something else had forced their hands.

Auum watched the tail of the army disappear around the first bend in the river. More guard mages flew above them. Auum rubbed a hand over his face. The decisions the TaiGethen made now would govern the fate of all elves. He moved off to join his Tais, his mind racing.

If every cell answered the muster, fifty-four TaiGethen faced four thousand men from Ysundeneth alone. The only chance they had was to track and attack, strike and fade away. Wherever their enemy went, the TaiGethen would hound them, bleed them and teach them what it really meant to be an enemy of Yniss.