The Hawk Eternal

Chapter Eleven

Three days after the battle, Gaelen was summoned by an elderly druid and led to Taliesen’s chambers below the hall of the Gate where Caswallon awaited him. In the harsh light of the chamber Caswallon seemed even older; his hair was thinning and had turned white near the temples.

“Welcome,” he said, gesturing the clansman to be seated. He poured clear white wine into silver goblets, handed one to Gaelen, and then sat down in a wide leather chair.

“What happened to you, Caswallon?”

The older man chuckled. “Do I look so bad?”

“No,” lied Gaelen, “just older.”

“I am older. It is eleven years since I asked you to find Laric and bring his warriors to Axta Glen. Eleven long years… lonely years.”

“The Queen told me you led her to the Chalice Gate and then you stepped through. Within seconds you returned, only you were older and dressed, as now, in robes of velvet.”

“It is not easy for me to explain it to you, Gaelen. When I reached the Chalice Gate I was filled with fear. A dying monk told me the Gate was not closed, yet I could see for myself that it was. The cave was shallow and water dripped from the walls. I walked forward, sick with dread, and reached out. My hand passed through the stone as though through smoke. I walked on, and found myself on a plain overlooking a city of golden turrets and tall towers of polished marble.

“A man was waiting for me. His name was Astole and he greeted me like a brother, for I had saved his life in another place. He took me to his home-a palace with many servants-and there he began to instruct me in the Gates and the words of power to manipulate them. I was filled with terrible impatience, but he promised he could return me to within seconds of my departure. And I had to trust him.

“The years passed slowly. Sometimes I would be filled with joy at my newfound knowledge and dream of exacting a terrible revenge on the Aenir. At other times I felt an awful dread, wondering if I had been tricked. But always I learned. Impossibility made reality. You have seen the stone that attracts iron?”

“Yes. Onic has one.”

“The force that pulls the metal cannot be seen, but its effects can be observed. It is the same with the power behind the Gates. Let me show you something.” Caswallon lifted a small box set with colored stones. He pressed the ruby at the center and the far wall darkened, then became a window overlooking the Farlain.

“As you can see, that is the mountain of Carduil on the borders of Haesten territory. That is now. We can see that image as the light is reflected to our eyes. Had we been here yesterday, we would have seen rain over Carduil. But we were not. Yet the image was still transmitted. Astole discovered that light images linger, leaving traces that can last ten thousand years. Hence, with the turn of a dial, we can see…” The screen shimmered and the mountain appeared once more, cloud-covered and dull, sheeting rain pounding the slopes. Caswallon pressed a stone and the image disappeared.

“Astole made machines that could trace the Lines of Time, allowing man to view his own past. But then the greatest excitement of all. Within the traces Astole discovered particles of matter that did not deteriorate. Unchanging, they existed from day to day, from century to century. They were unaffected by the passing of time. Indeed, they seemed to exist outside time’s laws.

“During his experiments Astole trapped several particles within a field of force-similar to that which works the stone that attracts iron. The field and the particles disappeared without trace. Astole constructed another and suddenly the first field reappeared, but the second vanished. The following day he constructed a third field, and the same thing happened. Excited beyond his experience, Astole made plans for two large fields, preparing his assistants beforehand. He placed himself at the center of the first field and activated it. He vanished instantly. His assistants, following his instructions, activated the second field and he reappeared. The particles had drawn him into a distant past. How, he did not know, but he had stumbled on the greatest discovery of them all, the Gates.”

“I don’t understand any of this, Caswallon,” said Gaelen.

“I’m sorry, my boy. How can I tell you in minutes that which has taken a decade of my life? Anyway, I stayed with Astole, and I absorbed his knowledge. Together we journeyed to fabulous cities and kingdoms lost to the memory of man. We walked the Time Lines, seeing the births of civilizations and the deaths of empires. Finally he judged me ready and we journeyed to a desert, and there I met the man to answer all questions. As he spoke I felt my heart emptied and refilled. All dreams of vengeance died. Violence was washed from me.”

“Who was he?” asked the clansman.

Caswallon smiled and laid his hand on Gaelen’s shoulder. “If you thought the Gates were hard to comprehend, then do not ask about the man. He sent me home and I appeared in the Chalice Gate, even as you see me now. With my new words of power I activated the machines and scanned Axta Glen. You were not there. I searched the Farlain, coming at last to Icairn’s Folly. Then I opened the Gate and the Queen led her lancers through.”

“But you did not ride with them,” said Gaelen.

“No. I am the Hawk Eternal, Gaelen, and I’ll never wield a sword against any man again.”

“You have changed, Father.”

“All life is change. But I am the same man who carried you from Ateris, the same man who loves his people. Only now I love them more. It is strange. I could have destroyed the Aenir single-handed; but with the gift of that power, I lost the desire to use it thus.”

“How did Maeg take all this?” asked Gaelen.

“Hard. But love conquers all. And I love her-more than life.”

“Will you remain as Hunt Lord?”

“Do I look like a Farlain Hunt Lord?” he asked, smiling.

“No.”

“And I shall not be the Hunt Lord. I will remain here, at Vallon, and tend the Gates. There are many tasks before me, Gaelen, but first I must spend some time with Maeg and Donal. Then I will meet Astole again.”

“I am returning with the Queen,” said Gaelen. “Lennox, Onic, and Gwalchmai are coming with me.”

“I know. We will meet again.”

“Tell me, Caswallon, are you truly content?”

“More content than any mortal man has any right to be.”

“Then I am glad for you.”

“And I for you. You have a fine woman in Lara, and I know she will give you beautiful children. I wish for you a life enriched with love, for you deserve it.”

“I shall miss the Farlain. Will I be able to return someday?”

“Ask me when next you see me.”

“I must go. The Queen is waiting,” said Gaelen.

Caswallon rose and walked around the table. “Walk always in the Light,” he told Gaelen.

Caswallon watched the clansman leave and his heart ached. He had seen pity in Gaelen’s eyes and knew the bond between them would never be the same. For to Gaelen, Caswallon was no longer a clansman. He had put aside his sword.

What could he have told Gaelen to make him realize? Should he have explained about the man in the desert?

Caswallon grinned wryly and filled his goblet. Tell him about a man who allowed himself to be dragged through a city and murdered by the people he loved? Oh, yes, that would have impressed him. He finished his wine and turned to the black screen before him. Lifting the control box he tuned the image, watching Sigarni, Gaelen, and his friends crossing the Gates of Time.

He felt a cold breeze on his back and turned to see Maeg standing in the doorway hugging a woolen shawl about her shoulders. She seemed so distant, so withdrawn. Caswallon swallowed hard, a sense of despair gripping him.

“You must be getting old, Caswallon,” she said, “allowing yourself to be surprised by a woman.”

“Surprise, is it? When I heard the footsteps I felt it had to be a mountain troll come to life.”

She grinned at him then. “My feet are not so large. But even if they were I think I’d sooner have that than vast areas of my head losing hair.”

“Did no one ever teach you to respect your elders, woman?”

“Is it respect you want?” she asked, moving closer.

He opened his arms and held her close. “Do you still love me, Maeg?”

“I love you, clansman. Above all things. And you’re a fool to believe otherwise. Now tell me what happened to you.”

For an hour or more they sat together until he had emptied himself of words. At last she led him from the chamber to walk under the stars above Vallon.