The Mask wearer

18 BARTHELEMY, LORD OF BRATEL-LA-GRANDE

When Beorf opened his eyes, he felt as if he had been sleeping for years. He sat on the ground to recover. He was famished. He ate some nuts and tried to remember what had happened before he was turned to stone. At first his only thoughts were of the gorgon. He had dreamed that Medusa was caressing his face. Many times her enchanting voice had soothed him in his dreams. Beorf had totally lost any notion of time. Then an image of Karmakas popped into his mind. Also that of his friend Amos, who had gone off to accomplish his quest. All these memories swirled in his head. He decided to leave the cavern and started to walk aimlessly in the forest.

All the dwellers of Bratel-la-Grande-the Knights of Light, the peasants, and the shopkeepers-left the side of the road where they had been displayed as statues and began to walk toward the city. At the city gates, the men of Berrion gave them a warm welcome. Every gorgon had crumbled to dust; now the curse was only a bad memory.

A large meeting took place in the center of the ruined city.

“Dwellers of Bratel-la-Grande! I, Junos, lord of the Knights of Equilibrium and ruler of the kingdom of Berrion, declare this city free! We fought evil and delivered you from the gorgons. Now I offer to rebuild this city with you, in harmony and respect.”

“Go away!” a man shouted in the crowd. “There is only one ruler here-me.” It was Yaune the Purifier; he approached the dais. “No one will tell the Knights of Light what to do and how to do it,” he said. “Leave immediately and let me rebuild our city the way we want it.”

A murmur rose from the crowd. Junos raised his hand to ask for silence.

“Citizens of Bratel-la-Grande, it is because of your lord that all of you nearly lost your lives,” Junos went on. “Yaune the Purifier knew that a powerful sorcerer was looking for him. He did not tell you the truth, and this lie almost brought your destruction. A true knight never tells falsehoods the way this man did for countless years. Today I must clearly state the facts so that all of you can understand my intentions. I ardently wish to annex Bratel-la-Grande’s territory to that of Berrion’s. Together we can create a vast kingdom-”

“How dare you!” Yaune shouted, drawing his sword. “I will not tolerate further insults.”

Barthelemy jostled his way to the dais. “Yaune, should we not listen to what this man has to offer? We owe him our lives, and were it not for his courage, this city would still be in the hands of our enemies. As proof of respect for the bravery of his men and to show my gratitude, I am ready to take an oath of allegiance to him. There is nothing wrong with serving someone who is stronger than oneself. When a lord who is good and fair requests an alliance, a knight must recognize his value and submit.”

“Traitor!” Yaune cried loudly. “You speak like your father! And since we’re putting all our cards on the table today, I’ll confess that I’m the one who killed him with my own sword. We were together when the pendant fell into my hands. Your father insisted that we destroy it. I refused. That trophy was mine. He challenged me to a duel and I drew his blood. Now I order that you be burned alive for treason. Knights of Light, seize this man immediately!”

Baffled, the knights looked at one another. “We’ve burned enough innocent people!” one of them shouted. “I side with Barthelemy! Let his punishment be mine too, for I am tired of obeying Yaune the Purifier.”

Another knight came to Barthelemy’s side and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’ve known this man since childhood, and I believe he’s got what it takes to become our new lord! I’m also in favor of an alliance with our saviors, our friends from Berrion.”

The crowd applauded loudly and every Knight of Light gathered behind Barthelemy, their new master. Then Junos requested silence once more.

“Bratel-la-Grande has just chosen a new ruler!” he said. “Barthelemy, join me on the dais and listen to the acclamation of your people! Today I pledge to you the friendship and loyalty of Berrion. To facilitate our trade activities, we will build a road between our two kingdoms. We’ll work together for the prosperity and well-being of our people.”

Enraged, Yaune raised his sword to strike Barthelemy. Junos’s guard stopped him.

“Let him be!” Bathelemy intervened. “For having killed my father, Yaune, I condemn you to exile. We will tattoo the word ‘murderer’ on your forehead so that everyone knows what kind of man you are. You will also be stripped of your title of knight. No one will be burned in this kingdom from here on. We will rebuild this city on new principles.”

In the meantime, Amos looked for Beorf in the crowd. He did not find him, so he decided to leave the city and search beyond its walls. Luckily, a full moon helped him see clearly in the night. As he walked through the fields, Amos was relieved to see Beorf appear at the edge of the forest. He called to him and ran to greet him.

“Amos, my friend!” Beorf cried out as the two friends hugged each other. “How happy I am to see you again! I’m looking for Medusa. I want you to meet her, but she has disappeared. Yet she was with me when… It’s the sorcerer who-”

“Beorf, we have many things to say to each other,” Amos interrupted. “Let us sit down and let me tell you an incredible story of friendship.”

Amos shared Medusa’s feelings with Beorf. He also revealed that she had sacrificed herself for him. Beorf couldn’t hold back his tears.

“I’ll never see her again, then. Isn’t that so, Amos?”

“I’m afraid that’s true, Beorf.”

A heavy silence fell upon them.

“She was so sweet and so beautiful,” Beorf finally whispered. “I loved her. I spent the most wonderful moments of my life with her. And her eyes… You should have seen her eyes.”

“I have to confess that I did my best to avoid seeing them,” Amos said. “Come now! Let’s go back to the city. We need distractions.”

Along the way, Beorf remembered that the last time he had seen Amos was when Amos had left to go to the woods of Tarkasis.

“Tell me, Amos, do you know now what a mask wearer is?” Beorf asked.

“Oh! Indeed I do! Watch carefully.”

Amos concentrated, slowly lifting one of his arms. A light breeze rose and surrounded the two friends.

Wearing an indelible mark on his forehead, Yaune the Purifier was locked in a wooden cage, carried away to the border, and exiled from the kingdom. Once released from his cage, the former ruler of Bratel-la-Grande took to the road like a beggar. The tattoo betrayed his true nature, and he was driven away from each village he crossed.

One night he unknowingly entered the realm of Omain, ruled by Lord Edonf. There Yaune saw a small temple. He went inside, thinking that it would be a good spot to get some rest. A shiver went down his spine when he realized that the walls were made of human bones. Facing him, seated on a throne of gold, was a snake-headed creature. His skin was light red and his hands looked like strong eagle talons.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Yaune asked bravely.

“My name is Seth and I have a proposition for you. I offer you this sword, brave knight. It tears through armor and poisons all those it touches. A lord such as yourself cannot live without a kingdom. If you agree to be in my service, I’ll provide you with power and wealth. Your mission is simple: conquer the land of Omain and kill the ruler, Lord Edonf.”

“And if I refuse?” Yaune asked.

Seth smiled. “Well, if you don’t accept my offer, you’ll return to your life as a beggar and you’ll die poor, famished, and forgotten. Conquer the realm of Omain and I’ll offer you revenge over Barthelemy and Junos. You will recapture your former kingdom plus that of Berrion. Are you interested in my offer?”

Yaune smiled happily and extended his hand. “Give me the sword, Seth. I have a great deal of work ahead of me!” he answered.