Soldiers of the Heavens Page 2
“Dear God, why?” Nellise breathed.
“This is pure conjecture on my part, but given the forces involved in such a procedure, it is likely Aiden died at some point in his life, allowing Salinder a chance to instil part of his own being into the essence of Aiden’s soul, before bringing him back from beyond.”
“Death is an exaggeration, but you’re not far off,” Aiden remarked blandly.
“You ascribe this dragon with the power of a deity,” Nellise remarked diffidently. “One might almost consider such talk as blasphemous, if one were so inclined.”
“Don’t start getting all zealous,” Robert advised her. “The Church of Aielund is basically non-existent at the moment, so it’s a moot point.”
“The greater the being, the more power it can exert over the cosmos,” Terinus countered, his grey eyes locked with Nellise’s golden ones. “It isn’t theology I speak of, merely a form of science. What is a god but a highly advanced life form, able to see and manipulate the fabric of space and time to its own design?”
“We seem to be getting off-topic here,” Pacian Savidge interrupted, glaring at them from under his lank white hair. “Aiden has a claw instead of a hand. What’s up with that?”
“The short answer,” Terinus explained with diminishing patience, “is that if Aiden continues to draw upon the dragon’s sorcery, it will gradually consume him, transforming him completely and irrevocably into an avatar of the dragon itself.”
“And what will happen to me?” Aiden asked quietly.
“You will most likely cease to exist as anything more than a dream, or a memory,” Terinus said in a detached voice. “If precautions are taken this need not occur, which is something I will discuss with you in due course. For now, finish your meal for there are other, more pressing questions you wish answered, yes?” Aiden responded by pushing away his half-finished plate.
“Do you not find the food to your satisfaction?” Terinus asked casually, continuing to eat his own meal.
“I suddenly find myself with a lack of appetite,” Aiden muttered. The others looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and curiosity, especially Sayana Arai, for the sorceress has already figured much of this out days before. She had attempted to tame her wild red hair, but as the evening wore it it had rebelled against her attempts to restrain it.
Nellise also pushed away a half-eaten meal, but had her own reasons for doing so. “Personally, I find it difficult to stomach a meal sitting across from a mass murderer such as yourself,” she said to Terinus, who neither flinched nor stopped eating. A tense silence hung over the table for a long moment before he answered.
“I will not try to justify my actions, for they are beyond forgiveness,” the wizard replied carefully. “They are not, however, beyond redemption,n and it is for that reason I have summoned you all here this evening.”
“It is well you do not seek forgiveness, for you will find none here,” Nellise added.
“Steady Nel, he’s trying,” Pacian counselled knowingly. His knowledge of repentance was extensive.
“Lady Nellise,” Terinus rasped, finally pushing aside his empty plate, “are you not also familiar with the burden of a guilty conscience? Can you not recognise a soul yearning for redemption? Pacian certainly knows of such things, and if you have patience and faith for him, then might I not be worthy of the same?” Nellise stared at him before lowering her eyes.
“It is very easy to judge someone prematurely, and I must confess I have done so with you, sir,” she apologised.
“It was unavoidable, given that I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with you so candidly before now,” Terinus shrugged.
“Perhaps you should start by telling us who you are,” Aiden suggested, “and why you’ve been manipulating events for so long.” Terinus nodded in silent accord, before reaching for a pull-rope hanging nearby. A small bell rang as he tugged on the rope, and within moments Lucas opened the door and scurried up to the table.
“’ow are you, eh?” he asked obsequiously, rubbing his hands togethers. “Enjoyin’ the meal, yeah? Damn fine cookin’ if you ask me—”
“Lucas — wine,” Terinus rasped, cutting him off in mid-sentence.
“Right you are, sir,” Lucas mumbled as he hurried over to a small rack laden with bottles. He withdrew one from the middle and quickly popped the cork. “I really should let it breathe—”
“Leave it.”
“Alright, alright, I can tell when I’m not wanted,” the raelani chuckled, depositing the bottle on the table and heading back through the doorway. Once it was closed, Terinus picked up the bottle of wine and wafted the open top beneath his nose.
“Excellent,” he murmured, beginning to pour the smooth red liquid into tall glasses arranged on the table. “It is my understanding you once visited the legendary city of Acadia,” he began, gesturing to his guests to help themselves to a glass.
“Yes, the elves proved to be valuable allies in the Battle of Fort Highmarch,” Aiden replied glancing at his glass but refusing to drink from it.
“You and I remember that fight differently,” Robert remarked, taking a large swig of wine.
“They would have spoken to you of their past,” Terinus continued, “a past in which half of their population attempted to fight an ancient enemy.”
“I recall a glowing mural depicting fire raining down from the skies,” Sayana said blandly. “Was it something to do with that?” Terinus slumped back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling as he replied.
“It was the grandest endeavour ever undertaken,” he breathed, lost in memory. “Marshalling all of our accumulated knowledge, we ripped the citadel of rock from the earth and ascended to the heavens on wings of fire. Even if we knew what lie in wait for us, we still would have gone ahead, for it was our one chance to strike back at our old foe. The things I witnessed during that time are burned into my mind.”
“Wait, you were on board when the citadel took flight?” Sayana interrupted. “That event took place over fourteen hundred years ago!”
“One thousand, four hundred and thirty-two, to be precise,” Terinus corrected her, which prompted a gasp from Nellise.
“Impossible,” she whispered. “Not even the elves are so long-lived.”
“There is something in this tower which prolongs life,” Aiden said, “or at least delays the inevitable.”
“Quite so,” Terinus nodded. “My memories of that era are foggy at best, but I will never forget the battle which changed the course of my life. For you see, I was in command of the assault, and I alone bear responsibility for its failure.”
“Were you the only survivor?” Pacian asked.
“There were others… for a time. The citadel was shattered, and many perished in the fall back to the earth, far below. A few of us were taken alive and made to suffer at the hands of our captors.”
“So, you were the toughest?”
“Far from it. I was the only one to capitulate to their terms,” Terinus rasped without feeling. “The others refused to yield and were put to death, but I… can no longer recall if I succumbed out of cowardice, or in the hope I could bide my time to fight again someday. It no longer matters. Long have I toiled under the yoke of my masters, performing terrible deeds and culling the peoples of this land in their name while quietly, secretly, I searched for a chance to exact my revenge. And finally, at long last, that time is upon us.”
“Your allegiance to King Seamus was part of this,” Aiden said. “You duped him into accepting you as his personal wizard, much in the same fashion you tricked Captain Sir Denholm into believing you were his ship’s cat. You then secretly manipulated events from behind the scenes.”
“Correct. For many generations, I have done this,” Terinus nodded. “Seamus was not the first, but if my plan is successful, he will hopefully be the last.”
“I take it this is the reason you need us,” Aiden surmised. “Who are ‘they’, these ancient people you claim to work for?”
“Wait,” Robert interrupted. “Are you saying this whole war — which you helped start, at the bidding of these sa’quaarin I presume — was all about resources?”
“Essentially,” Terinus confirmed.
“Good, because you’d lost me for a while with all that talk about flying castles and cowardice. They may not be from around here, but I know a land-grab when I see one. I’m guessing all of these wars are designed to keep us off balance and distracted, yeah?”
“That, and more than that. The sa’quaarin ensure the peoples of this land do not advance to the point where they can become a threat. Whenever a new discovery is made, an agent such as myself evaluates its potential and if necessary, eliminates it and the people responsible for it. The flooding of Ferrumgaard is a singular example of this policy.”
“Ferrumgaard,” Aiden repeated, recalling the dangers of that lost city. “Were you behind that?”
“I implanted the desire to destroy the city into the minds of key members of the MacAliese clan,” Terinus confirmed with little enthusiasm. “I did not foresee it would drive them to the brink of madness, however.” Aiden and the others stared at the wizard in silence as the gravity of his influence over history began to coalesce.
“What could they possibly have done to warrant such an extreme response?” Nellise asked in disbelief.
“Vythir,” Robert answered before Terinus could. “This is all about vythir, isn’t it?”
“You are correct,” the wizard replied with a nod. “Vythir is a key component in the fabrication of auldsteel. The sa’quaarin and their agents have been mining this world for thousands of years. Pockets of the metal are becoming rare, and the dwarves were excavating it voraciously.”
“I’m beginning to understand the magnitude of your crimes,” Nellise murmured when no one else would speak. “How many innocents have you slain in over fourteen hundred years?”
“As I said, it is beyond forgiveness,” Terinus whispered in his broken voice. “Thinking of my past brings me great torment. I will not speak of it again.”
“Empty caverns deep in the earth,” Aiden murmured in thought. “I saw one of those on the way to Feybourne, a few years back. There was a crumbling network of tunnels sitting astride the cavern itself, but I never knew why it was there until now.”
“Wait a moment,” Pacian interrupted, “there’s something I don’t understand. If you hate working for them so much, why do you do it? Are you so afraid to die?”
“If they would take my life, I would be grateful for my release,” Terinus answered with a level stare at Pacian. “I continue, because if I do not serve, they will raze Aielund to the ground.” He paused to allow this revelation to sink in. “You are familiar with the Hocarum desert, yes? It was once a thriving civilisation, until their strength grew too great and they were utterly destroyed by a pillar of flame from the heavens.
“Remember this well, for it is the fate that awaits Aielund should we fail to stop them. It is for this reason you are here. The energy unleashed by the destruction of the Ironlord has blinded my masters for a time to events in Feydwiir, granting me the opportunity to enact my plan.”
“And if we choose not to help you?” Pacian asked pointedly. “What if we were to slay you here, and go back to our lives?”
“You will miss the opportunity to free this world from its unseen bondage,” Terinus answered. “The world will go on as it has, with wars and seemingly arbitrary destruction going on and on. I would simply be replaced by another, one more compliant to my master’s needs and I assure you, they have dire plans in store for Aielund. You will not have another chance at this. Choose wisely.”
“You needed the Ironlord destroyed to make this happen?” Robert asked.
“Yes, the flare of energy in this region will—”
“Princess Criosa had wanted her father saved, not killed,” the mercenary interrupted. “What if she had managed to convince Aiden not to kill the man?”
“That wasn’t likely to happen, given I had planted a suggestion in Aiden’s mind to ensure he would carry out the task.” Aiden stared at Terinus in a mixture of abhorrence and shock.
“How dare you ask for my aid, while simultaneously manipulating my thoughts and actions,” he growled in a dangerous voice,
“It was the only way to ensure its destruction,” Terinus answered coldly. “I am playing a very dangerous game here, Aiden. Victory requires sacrifice, and failure results in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocents. Though I understand your reluctance to work with me, know that all I have done, all of my… terrible deeds, everything I have left within me is bent towards the elimination of the sa’quaarin. Your knowledge of their language and relics is of great importance to the cause, and I would know, here and now, if you are going to commit. The rest of you are important, but not essential. What say you, sir?”
Aiden looked around at his companions and saw reluctance on their faces. He hadn’t been fully prepared for the sheer scale of Terinus’s story, and the idea of working with such a man was abhorrent. Even after hearing the reasons for his atrocities, Aiden was tempted to do as Pacian suggested, and end the ancient wizard’s life once and for all.
But he couldn’t do it. The thought of these strange beings manipulating them from on high, starting wars and stopping all forward progress in society was enough to prompt Aiden into action one more time.
“Does your plan involve killing King Osric?” he asked with quiet intensity. “Because I’d really like to kill Osric.”
“I second the motion,” Robert added. The king's duplicity still chafed after they had retaken Fairloch.
“The King of Tulsone had not entered into my designs,” Terinus replied, “but the presence of the construct by his side in Fairloch has forced me to alter my plans a little.” This caught Aiden’s attention.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“It is a maybe,” Terinus explained. “I have never before seen a construct like it, and I am curious as to how it came into his possession. It is entirely possible my masters are keeping secrets from me, even after all this time in their service. You are concerned for Criosa.”
“I’m sure you can understand why,” Aiden answered, thinking of the woman he loved in the hands of a monster.
“The Princess is more than capable of taking care of herself,” Terinus assured Aiden. “Osric will find her to be quite a handful.”
“That’s what has me worried,” Aiden muttered under his breath, clenching his hands under the table. Princess Criosa Roebec had chosen to leave Fairloch and marry King Osric, rather than risk more death and suffering through renewed conflict.
It was a noble sacrifice on her part, given the young king’s growing reputation for abusing women in secret. Still, it seemed Osric had manipulated affairs long in advance to force her to accept his marriage proposal, and Aiden feared for the safety of the brave woman he had come to know and love.
“If you are to aid me against the sa’quaarin,” Terinus went on, bringing Aiden’s attention back from his other concerns, “you are going to need better equipment.” He rose from the table and set his empty glass upon it, then headed for the door without waiting to see if they would follow him. Aiden pushed aside his fears for Criosa and turned to the others.
“Copper for your thoughts?”
“His tale seems outlandish,” Sayana confided, “but given the things we’ve witnessed over the past few years, I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“If there are things out there behind all of this senseless killing, I want to have a word with them,”
Pacian said in a low voice.
“I’ve worked with people of questionable moral fibre before,” Nellise added without glancing to Pacian. “If there is indeed a race of powerful beings controlling the evolution of our society, I think we should seize this chance to try and stop them. The alternative is far too horrifying to consider.”
“God I’m tired,” Robert answered when Aiden looked to him. “I doubt we’ll get paid for this, but if Sy is in, so am I. My concern is dealing with more constructs like the Ironlord. If their weapons and armour are all made from auldsteel, we’re going to need something at least as good to even put a dent in them.”
“That’s probably what Terinus was referring to,” Aiden suggested thoughtfully. “Alright, let’s see where this leads.” He stood and led the rest through the door in search of the wizard. Instead, they found Saffron standing nearby, apparently waiting for them. She pointed to another door further along the hallway. Aiden nodded his thanks and kept moving until he found Terinus pulling the covers off some bizarre looking equipment inside a laboratory.
“This equipment is sa’quaarin in origin,” Aiden stated as he recognised several blue-glowing generators amongst the more obscure mechanisms. All of it looked ancient and worn.
“Supplied by my benefactors to further their own ends,” Terinus confirmed as he continued pulling off dusty covers. “Now it will be the source of their undoing.”
“Do you have any weapons we can use?” Robert asked after a casual glance around.
“Of a sort,” the wizard replied cryptically. “I know of a cache where more conventional equipment is stored, but what I have here is something Aiden and Sayana will find of great interest. Behold.” He pulled a cover off a low, squat device, not dissimilar to a seat, but with an array of protruding metal nodules arranged along the length, so if one were to sit in it, they would match the curvature of one’s spine. It was actually quite small — even a three-foot high raelani would be too large for it.