alone.” She reached out with her staff into the roots of the fire. Blue flame swirled around it like the azure glow of Al-Aaron’s gossamer blade. “Maedelous, who will you send as council?”
His face contorted in a leer. “If it must be this way, then Al-Hoanar I will send as my proxy.”
“And I will send Al-Thinneas as mine.”
Al-Thinneas nodded to the Mother and again to Chaelus. Yet Chaelus’ thoughts had already passed to another.
“What of Al-Aaron?” he asked.
The Mother’s eyes softened. “Go to him while you can. The Younger succumbs to the Dragon’s Sleep just as you did. There is little left for him now but his faith. Prepare yourself, barbarian, for you leave on the morrow. The shadow of the Dragon deepens. The time of your testing has already begun.”
The Mother’s gaze passed from face to face, and as each eye met hers in turn, there occurred something intimate between them, a silent dialogue between their souls.
Chaelus stiffened as her stare returned to him. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for him to know that something had changed between them. There would be no secrets kept from her. He was transparent to her. He was a ghost. Just as his father had once been. He looked again to the surrounding faces, most of them still veiled from him by the fire. From those that he could see, tears fell. Whether they were from shame or joy , he didn’t know.
Chapter Ten
Whispers
Chaelus knelt beside Al-Aaron. The flames of the small fire pot quickened in the breeze from the open window.
Al-Aaron slumped back into his pallet. His pallor had deepened. His eyes fluttered. His voice was a hoarse whisper. “Tell me what you saw. Tell me what you saw as you passed through the forest’s veil.”
“The Dragon came to me,” Chaelus said.
Al-Aaron closed his eyes. “It was a vision of the darkness within you.”
“It was no vision,” Chaelus said, his voice cold. “It was the Dragon, and it was waiting for me, here, in your sanctuary. For a moment I even stood against it, until three spirits came against me.”
Al-Aaron’s eyes opened. “Spirits?”
“They floated above me, bathed in a glow. They cast apart Sundengal, and left me defenseless against the Dragon.”
Al-Aaron stared lost into the ceiling and the faded mural there. It showed three Angels. He leaned back and closed his eyes again. He smiled. “Malius was right.”
Chaelus withdrew, uncertain at the utterance of his father’s name. “My father died in madness. In the end he knew no right.”
“He knew what you were. He alone understood what you would become. He knew more than the order I serve.”
“And how would you know this?” A trace of foreboding crept up Chaelus’ spine.
Al-Aaron stared back at him. Silence was his answer. His eyes sparkled like dark mead beneath the veil that still remained, but revealed nothing more. “And now the Nephelium have come to you, just as he said they would.”
Chaelus looked again to where Al-Aaron had been staring. The three Angels overlooked a prostrate man. A shattered staff rested on the ground beneath them.
“They have come to name you,” Al-Aaron said.
“I will not be sacrificed again.”
“Your sacrifice is already over. The Giver’s already been reborn.”
***
Al-Mariam pressed her hands into the deep pleats of her robe. She lowered her head as one of the three Tenders rushed past her, his errand his own. Al-Mariam’s thoughts raced as well.
The Synod was over. Whispers already floated amongst the broken halls; whispers of prophecy, whispers of the Dragon reborn. Ras Dumas was dead, along with the rest of the Fallen Ones. They had been taken back to the Dragon they had ultimately come to serve. Now the Synod had asked the blood of one of the Fallen to save them while her brother, if he even lived, waited
His face contorted in a leer. “If it must be this way, then Al-Hoanar I will send as my proxy.”
“And I will send Al-Thinneas as mine.”
Al-Thinneas nodded to the Mother and again to Chaelus. Yet Chaelus’ thoughts had already passed to another.
“What of Al-Aaron?” he asked.
The Mother’s eyes softened. “Go to him while you can. The Younger succumbs to the Dragon’s Sleep just as you did. There is little left for him now but his faith. Prepare yourself, barbarian, for you leave on the morrow. The shadow of the Dragon deepens. The time of your testing has already begun.”
The Mother’s gaze passed from face to face, and as each eye met hers in turn, there occurred something intimate between them, a silent dialogue between their souls.
Chaelus stiffened as her stare returned to him. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for him to know that something had changed between them. There would be no secrets kept from her. He was transparent to her. He was a ghost. Just as his father had once been. He looked again to the surrounding faces, most of them still veiled from him by the fire. From those that he could see, tears fell. Whether they were from shame or joy , he didn’t know.
Chapter Ten
Whispers
Chaelus knelt beside Al-Aaron. The flames of the small fire pot quickened in the breeze from the open window.
Al-Aaron slumped back into his pallet. His pallor had deepened. His eyes fluttered. His voice was a hoarse whisper. “Tell me what you saw. Tell me what you saw as you passed through the forest’s veil.”
“The Dragon came to me,” Chaelus said.
Al-Aaron closed his eyes. “It was a vision of the darkness within you.”
“It was no vision,” Chaelus said, his voice cold. “It was the Dragon, and it was waiting for me, here, in your sanctuary. For a moment I even stood against it, until three spirits came against me.”
Al-Aaron’s eyes opened. “Spirits?”
“They floated above me, bathed in a glow. They cast apart Sundengal, and left me defenseless against the Dragon.”
Al-Aaron stared lost into the ceiling and the faded mural there. It showed three Angels. He leaned back and closed his eyes again. He smiled. “Malius was right.”
Chaelus withdrew, uncertain at the utterance of his father’s name. “My father died in madness. In the end he knew no right.”
“He knew what you were. He alone understood what you would become. He knew more than the order I serve.”
“And how would you know this?” A trace of foreboding crept up Chaelus’ spine.
Al-Aaron stared back at him. Silence was his answer. His eyes sparkled like dark mead beneath the veil that still remained, but revealed nothing more. “And now the Nephelium have come to you, just as he said they would.”
Chaelus looked again to where Al-Aaron had been staring. The three Angels overlooked a prostrate man. A shattered staff rested on the ground beneath them.
“They have come to name you,” Al-Aaron said.
“I will not be sacrificed again.”
“Your sacrifice is already over. The Giver’s already been reborn.”
***
Al-Mariam pressed her hands into the deep pleats of her robe. She lowered her head as one of the three Tenders rushed past her, his errand his own. Al-Mariam’s thoughts raced as well.
The Synod was over. Whispers already floated amongst the broken halls; whispers of prophecy, whispers of the Dragon reborn. Ras Dumas was dead, along with the rest of the Fallen Ones. They had been taken back to the Dragon they had ultimately come to serve. Now the Synod had asked the blood of one of the Fallen to save them while her brother, if he even lived, waited
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