Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One (19 page)

“Generations ago, long before the mountains
exploded and the seas churned, our cultures gathered together
beneath the mountain to join in celebration. But there was an evil
power at work. One day the earth sent up its fires, and the
mountains burned and the earth shook. Much of Tearia plunged into
the sea. Tens of thousands died. It seemed as if the world was
ending.

“Those who survived cried to the gods, but
their prayers were not answered. The world became filled with
famine and plague, and the Tearians felt betrayed and abandoned. An
evil power whispered in their ears and told them lies. It told them
the gods were punishing them for their sin—the sin of
fraternization with those not of their kind, those of the north,
the dark ones.

“The Tearians turned their hearts against
their neighbors to the north, and it was toward them, and those
Kiradyns who had come to live amongst us or had united with our
kind in marriage, that a terrible purge took place.”

Reiv paused. No one said a word or moved a
muscle. “I was once said to be the future Red King, the second
coming of a king of old who brought Tearia back to greatness after
the dark times. It was because of my coloring that I was identified
as such, nothing more than that. But I tell you, I have been given
a glimpse of that king, and he was as fair-haired and pale-skinned
as any Tearian. Time and propaganda have twisted the truth of him,
for it is easier to identify him by the color of his hair than by
the nature of his deeds. In truth the red in his title stemmed from
the bloody purge carried out at his command. He led a slaughter
against those he believed inferior, proclaiming it all in the name
of Agneis.

“The killing stopped through the intervention
of the gods, but the Purge continued. Those not worthy, those
marked or of the wrong color, or with any deformity were cast out,
forced to live in the outskirts of our society. Once the inferiors
had been beaten down by the terror of the sword and the threat of
starvation, they were enslaved. And that is what you all are
today—slaves to Tearian masters!”

Mixed emotions rumbled through the room, then
a timid voice up front asked: “But what of those from the north?
Why did we never hear from them again?” Others demanded similar
answers.

Reiv raised a silencing hand. “After the
eruption of the mountain, the old passageways between us became too
difficult to travel. To make certain no Tearian ever went there
again, the Temple told the great lie that the gods had chosen to
reside in the mountains. Anyone who dared trespass was threatened
with death, and the Red King sent guards to stop anyone bold enough
to try. Some from the north attempted to cross the mountains and
contact Tearia, but they met their deaths at the hands of the
Guard. After a while no one went there from either side. It is said
the mountains are still guarded, but I have been there, as have
Brina and Dayn and Alicine, and I tell you this: There are no
guards there, just as there are no gods.”

“What of those from the north? What fear
keeps them on their side?” a woman asked.

Dayn cleared his throat and took a step
forward. “We’ve been taught that demons live in the mountains,” he
said, “minions of the evil that nearly destroyed the world. The
demons have always been described as white-haired and pale-skinned.
There are many stories of people who went to the mountains and
never returned. I was believed to be demon-kind because of my
coloring. Maybe what the Kiradyns think are demons are in fact the
Tearian guards from long ago that killed anyone who crossed the
borders. Our leaders have spread myths about the eruption of the
mountain just as yours have, and we’ve been kept just as
isolated.”

“Reiv,” the same woman said, “you say the
gods don’t reside in the mountains. So where are they? Why have
they deserted us?”

“I have spoken to only one god,” Reiv
replied, “and that was Agneis. She resides in the After Realm, not
the mountains, and she has not deserted us.”

“But Agneis speaks through the Priestess!” a
voice cried.

“No!” Reiv said. “Agneis is the Goddess of
Purity. The Priestess represents another. The Priestess knows the
truth of things, but speaks only lies. The power must be taken from
her and the evil she represents.”

“But if we move to take the power from the
Priestess, won’t evil’s wrath descend upon us?” a frightened voice
asked. “What’s to stop our total destruction this time?”

The crowd grew loud with protest, and people
rose in agitation. Reiv stepped forward and once again raised his
hands to silence the crowd. “I went through the ritual of
transcension to ask for the knowledge to heal a child. But Agneis
in her wisdom granted me more. I did not come back as one who can
lay a hand on the sick and make them well. I did not come back with
the power to make wrongs right with the sweep of a hand. I came
back with the knowledge of many things I did not know before, and
one of those things is that the gods will never forsake us. We, and
the gods, and everything of this world are entwined with the
Creator. The gods cannot desert us; they are a part of us.”

“But we don’t have the strength to fight the
Priestess!” someone cried.

“There is bad in us, just as there is good,”
Reiv said. “The Priestess’s power feeds on the evil nature of
things, but that does not mean she is stronger. Will we simply hand
a victory over to her because we are afraid? Will we let her tell
us we cannot embrace the gods who represent that part of us which
we cherish? Our people did not perish when much of Aredyrah was
burned into the sea. We survived, and our world retained its beauty
even through its scars. It is only through fear that evil maintains
its power. The gods are with us, but they do not promise the battle
will be an easy one. We must prove to them that we believe it is
worth fighting for, and we must trust them to guide us.”

A cluster of men in the back raised their
fists into the air. “You must lead us!” one of them shouted.

Two Shell Seekers who had been leaning
against the wall behind the men took a determined step forward.
“You are the Transcendor!” they said simultaneously.

“You have the power of the gods on your
side!” a woman on the front row cried. She twisted her body around,
eyeing the audience for assurances. “You can speak with them,
Reiv!”

A confusion of voices shouted a jumble of
commands at Reiv. “You must be the one to lead us! You must be the
one to take up the battle cry!” The entire crowd was on its feet
then, urging him to consider.

Reiv raised his hand, then his voice. “That
is not my purpose here. My role was to tell you, not to lead
you.”

A Tearian woman rushed forward. “But you are
the Unnamed One. Do you deny your destiny?” Others behind her
pressed forward also, shouting in agreement.

Reiv took a nervous step back. Torin rushed
to his side and barked an order for the crowd to retreat, but
emotions were high and the mass of individuals had become a single
entity of determination and purpose.

“Silence!” Reiv shouted. “Silence I say!” The
crowd grew quiet. “Think what you are doing! You risked arrest
tonight by coming here, and now you fill the air with shouts and
reckless actions. Calm yourselves or any hope for reform will be
stopped before it is begun. I have come to tell you truths, and
here is yet another—I am not who you think I am. I will offer what
I can, but I will not lead you.”

Reiv suddenly pushed forward and shouldered
his way through the startled mob. Dayn called after him, but Reiv
continued on and disappeared through the door. Dayn shoved past the
crowd and dashed into the street. He paused, glancing back and
forth, then spotted Reiv rounding the nearest corner. He sprinted
after him, catching up quickly, and grabbed Reiv by the arm,
spinning him around.

“What are you doing, walking out like that?”
Dayn demanded. “All those people back there are counting on you.
Why is it every time the going gets a little rough you run
away?”

Reiv pulled his arm from Dayn’s grasp. “I am
not running away, but if I stay they will not do what needs to be
done. They will continue to look to me for something I am not meant
to give. I do not think any more time needs to be wasted arguing
the issue.”

“What are you thinking? Of
course
the
issue needs to be argued. How are they to trust what you’ve told
them if you walk out like a coward?”

“I am not a coward, but I am also not what I
used to be. All my life I wanted to be a slayer; first of lions,
then of my own
brother
. It is true, Dayn. The morning of the
wedding, I was so desperate to have Cinnia back I would have slit
Whyn’s throat if need be. I swear, if guards had not been posted at
my door…” Reiv heaved a sigh. “It no longer matters. All that
matters is that I no longer wish it. I am different now.”

“How are you different?”

“I do not know how to explain it. When I
transcended, I went to a place of perfection. It was not easy
coming back. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I felt at
peace in that place, like I belonged. I came back because I had to,
and in so doing I waged the greatest battle of all—the battle
within myself. I am tired of fighting. I came here to do what I set
out to do, to tell the people what they needed to know. It is their
fight now.”

“You mean to tell me you’ll just walk away
and lay it all on me and bunch of frightened, helpless people?”

“That is exactly what I am telling you.”

“I swear, if I had the guts I’d knock you
flat on the ground!”

“Then do it,” Reiv said.

“Oh, and you think I won’t?”

Reiv shrugged, but in an instant he was on
his backside, reaching a hand to his bloodied lip. He smiled at his
fingertips. “Not bad for a first attempt,” he said.

Dayn reached down and grabbed Reiv’s hand,
yanking him back to his feet. “You’re coming back with me!”

“No, I am going home.”

“And where would that be? Back to Tearia? Or
would you prefer to live with Agneis in her realm of eternal
happiness?”

“I am going home to Meirla,” Reiv said. “I
made a promise to Kerrik and I intend to keep it. Go back inside,
Dayn. Do what you have to do.” Then Reiv turned and headed down the
street.

Dayn stared until Reiv had disappeared around
the corner. For a moment he thought to chase him down and drag him
back, but he knew he would be met with only increased resistance.
He walked back to the meeting place with a quickened pace. What in
the world was he going to do now? Other than send Torin to
accompany Reiv back to Meirla, he couldn’t think of a single
thing.

BACK TO ToC

Chapter 18: Coronation of Evil

T
he coronation of
the King was to take place in the sprawling space south of the
temple. There the lawn sloped away from the portico and stretched
into a semi-circular pattern, turning the grounds into a vast
open-air auditorium. The area was devoid of seats, except for a row
of chairs up front where the yellow-clad royal family sat. The
crowd continued to meander in, arranging themselves in groups
according to the color of their clothing, some in pastel green,
others in blue or dusty rose. Patrons visited amongst themselves or
reclined on the grasses of the lawn as they awaited the
commencements. But what would have normally been a festive event
was dampened by a line of Guard encircling the area with swords at
their hips, their steely eyes watching the thousands of spectators.
Voices in the crowd expressed confusion at the unexpected show of
arms. Their uneasiness increased as the last of the guests arrived
and the circle of Guard closed in around them.

Whyn stood off to the side of the portico,
watching but hidden from view. As he scanned the sea of talking
heads beyond the steps, he could not help but feel jubilant. After
his coronation in but a few moments time, they would all be bowed
before him. He was eager for the title that would soon officially
be his.

The crowd grew quiet as all rose and turned
their attentions in the direction of the temple. A row of priests
took their place at the back of the portico and stood, draped in
white togas, their heads lowered and hands folded in front of them.
Before them sat an altar of pink and gray marble. On either side
were two great thrones, the one at the right for the Priestess, the
other at the left where Whyn would soon be seated. One of the
priests stepped forward and began to chant, pausing periodically
for the crowd to respond in a well-rehearsed chorus. Then all grew
quiet as the Priestess made her grand entrance.

She floated across the portico as though
walking on air. A headdress of white plumes towered over her head,
and she was draped in a gown of iridescent material that cascaded
down her body like shimmering stars. She stopped behind the altar
and faced the crowd with an expression of supremacy. A priest
walked toward her and presented her with a white dove. She took it
and held it up for all to see. The quivering bird struggled to work
its wings from her grasp, but she held it tight, then plunged a
slender golden knife into its breast. She closed her eyes and
raised her face upward, then muttered sacred words before laying
the limp, blood-spattered body upon the cold altar. Lifting her
arms she, too, began to chant. The crowd fell to their knees and
lowered their heads to the ground. When she had finished, the
audience rose at her command and waited silently.

At the Priestess’s cue, Whyn entered the
portico and strolled across it. He was clothed in a fine tunic of
yellow silk. A long, velvet cape of the same bright color was
draped down his back. His head was bare of any adornment, his
white-blonde hair neatly parted and hanging loose at his shoulders.
Cinnia entered several paces behind him, as was her role, and stood
quietly to the side of him, watching with an expression of prideful
admiration. His mother stood there also, her painted lips
compressed into a thin line. She was no longer Queen of Tearia. Now
she was only the mother of the King.