Chasers of the Wind (56 page)

Outside a dozen soldiers were waiting for us. One of them liberated me from my bonds.

Another carriage approached. Three Walkers and Layen came out of it. The lilac bracelets still shone on her wrists. My sun was pale, but when she saw me, color returned to her cheekbones and her blue eyes sparkled. Ignoring her escort, she walked up to me.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“If you don’t count this abomination.” She twisted her lips and twitched an eyebrow at the magical shackles. “But more or less. And you?”

“Just the same.” I laughed and immediately saw a smile on her lips. “Shen condescended to heal my leg.”

“Don’t mention it,” said the Healer modestly.

“It’s a pity my hands are tied.” Layen’s eyes sparkled maliciously. “I’d happily smack you in the face, you filthy little toady.”

“Then I’m in luck,” he said quite seriously. “Let’s go; they’re waiting for us.”

Well then. The storm awaited us. We would have to pay for what we did seven years ago. The question was, what price would be asked of us?

“Take her shackles off,” I said to the Healer.

“No! Her Gift—”

“Get them off her, the Abyss take you, or you can forget about us talking!” I barked.

Shen blinked and then nodded to the Walkers. They weren’t excited about it, but for some reason they obeyed the boy. The light went out.

I wondered how things were with Layen’s Gift? I didn’t think these old maids would be able to release her spark. I shifted my eyes to the right.

There was the Tower. A massive structure shoring up the clouds, it loomed over us like a gloomy giant. Despite the bright, pink-veined stone from which the Sculptor had erected this majestic building, an indefinable menace emanated from its statuesque majesty. Those walls had seen too much over the past thousand years. They remembered the blood of those who died inside them during the Dark Revolt; they experienced the pain, fear, despair, and insane hope of the mages battling one another. They absorbed their souls, compressed them into their stone, and did not release them into the Blessed Gardens or the Abyss, forcing immortality on the souls to invest themselves with strength. Normal people rarely entered the enormous spire crowned with seven spikes. This was the preserve of the Walkers and the Embers; all others were allowed to pass only by special invitation. And it is extremely regrettable that we found ourselves among those miserable few.

What awaited us? What did the mages want from us? I didn’t believe the Healer. It was unlikely they searched for so long simply to have a talk. Almost no one who passes through the Gates of Light ever returns.

“Can we go now?” asked Shen venomously.

For a few seconds Layen and I looked into each other’s eyes. Then she gave a slight nod and, grasping me firmly by the hand, turned toward the Tower of the Walkers, which overshadows the entire world.

Glossary

Abyss
   Where, according to belief, the souls of sinners fall. It is populated by demonic creatures, who sometimes manage to break out into the outer worlds. The Abyss gives warmth to the sparks of those who have turned to the dark side of the Gift.

Al’sgara
   The largest city in the south of the Empire. It was founded more than a thousand years ago on a rocky cliff near the Oyster Sea. It was developed under the Sculptor, who built two large temples to Melot, the first three rings of defensive walls, the Tower of the Walkers, the underground aqueducts, the Palace of the Viceroy, and much more.

Blazogs
   A race that lives in the Great Blazgian Swamps in the south of the Empire. Most Blazogs never leave their homeland and very rarely do they come to a human city. They have a repulsive appearance and human speech is very difficult for them, so only a few master it.

Blazogs are considered excellent warriors. During the War of the Necromancers they sided with the Empire and formed the Marsh Regiment, considered one of the most effective and battle-seasoned units of the Second Southern Army.

Blessed Gardens
   The place, according to legend, where the souls of the righteous go. It is from the Gardens that bearers of the light side of the Gift draw strength for their spark.

Book of Invocation
   A foundational book of the wizards; it contains fundamental spells for battling demons.

Borderlands
   The territory between the Empire and Nabator. It is considered part of Nabator, but the region is uninhabited because of the huge amount of goves that live in this part of the Boxwood Mountains.

Bragun-Zan (Dead Ash)
   The rocky, lifeless wasteland to the north of the Empire that emerged as a result of the War of the Necromancers. It is nominally a part of the Empire, although the race of Nirits that live there consider themselves a free nation. In the center of Bragun-Zan is the Groh-ner-Tohh (Belting Mountain), a dormant volcano.

Burnt Souls (Shay-za’ns)
   A race related to the Je’arre. They live in the Great Waste, and are unsurpassed archers. According to the legends of the Sons of the Sky, the Shay-za’ns went against their god, called the Dancer by these peoples, and were punished. Both their souls and their wings were taken away.

Children of the Snow Leopard (Sons of the Snow Leopard)
   The name of one of the seven clans of northerners, who live in the Icy Lands in the northern part of the Empire. Besides the clan of the Snow Leopard, there exist the clans of the White Squirrel, the Bear, the Owl, the Marten, the Elk, and the Wolf.

Council of the Towers
   The governing organization, which includes the most influential Walkers.

Crow’s Nest
   A mighty fortress that guards the road to Al’sgara from the east.

Damned
   Eight rebel Walkers who escaped after the Dark Revolt: Rubeola (Mitifa), Plague (Leigh), Delirium (Retar), Consumption (Rovan), Cholera (Ginora), Pox (Alenari), Leprosy (Tal’ki), and Typhoid (Tia). Delirium and Cholera died during the War of the Necromancers.

Dark Revolt
   Initiated by a group of Walkers who wanted to change the rules of training and the possession of magic. After the Revolt, the eight remaining rebel mages came to be called the Damned.

Elect
   A person who has passed through the Sphere of the Necromancers, the Sdisian magical academy.

Feast of the Name
   A celebration of the Emperor’s birthday.

Fish
   A corpse that has scale armor grown onto its body with the assistance of a necromancer’s magic. It is able to explode on the orders of its master, destroying everyone who is nearby at that moment.

Forest Region
   The territory at the base of the Boxwood Mountains; it occupies a large part of the Empire’s south.

Gash-Shaku
   The second-largest city in the southern part of the Empire. The city’s fortifications were built by the Sculptor.

Gates of Six Towers
   An impregnable citadel that guards the only traversable pass through the western part of the Boxwood Mountains. This is the most convenient way into the Empire from the south.

The fortress was built by the Sculptor about a thousand years ago. It has never been taken by storm.

Gem’s Arch
   The name of the countryside near Sandon. The last major battle between humans and the Highborn occurred there; it ended in victory for the Empire. The signing of the peace treaty between the two races took place there as well.

Gerka
   A city in the Boxwood Mountains. It was abandoned during the War of the Necromancers. It still nominally belongs to the Empire, but has been neglected for the past five centuries.

Giiyan
   A master assassin. The word comes from the Blazgian word
Giiyanragganrrattanda,
which means “a murderer who receives a reward.”

Golden Mark
   The Golden Mark is ruled by the Brotherhood of Merchants, which is composed of the most respected and wealthiest traders in the country.

Great Decline
   The period between the death of the Sculptor and the War of the Necromancers. It lasted about five hundred years. It was during these years that the Walkers lost most of the secrets of the Art and were deprived of their ability to create new spells.

Great Waste
   An enormous desert beyond the Kingdom of Sdis.

Grogan
   Western country, behind Oyster sea.

Highborn
   A race of forest-dwelling elves. They live in the forests of Sandon and Uloron. For several centuries the Highborn fought with the Empire for the eastern part of the Boxwood Mountains and the passes that led to the southeast, into the Uninhabited Lands, which now belong to the Empire. The series of wars ended with the elves first being driven from Uloron and then pressed in Sandon and routed near Gem’s Arch. The King of the Highborn, Del’be Vaske, had to sign a peace treaty, even though some of the Houses of this race were against an alliance with the Empire.

The elves consider archery unbecoming to males, so only females use this weapon. (The Black Lilies.)

There are seven Great Houses among the Highborn: the House of Strawberry (currently ruling), the House of Dew, the House of Willow, the House of Fog, the House of Butterfly, the House of Lotus, and the House of Spark. Fifty Highborn families belong to each House.

House of Scarlet (The Scarlet Order)
   Subject to the Viceroy. The wizard-demonologists who are affiliated with the Order struggle against the creatures of the Abyss who have broken through the reality of the world of Hara, and also against spirits and ghosts. Unlike the Walkers, the wizards don’t have a spark; their abilities are based upon ritual magic, elixirs, formulas, and symbolic ruins. The head of the Scarlets is the Magister of the Order.

Isthmuses of Lina
   Two rocky passes that traverse the Bogs of Shett. A natural barrier to the Steps of the Hangman and Okni, it protects the southeast of the Empire.

Je’arre
   A race of winged creatures who came to the lands of the Empire after a part of their race was transformed into the Burnt Souls. Previously, they lived beyond the Great Waste.

The Je’arre have lived side by side with humans over the course of many centuries. The fabrics made by this tribe are highly valued in many countries, and they have gained great wealth thanks to these products.

Krylgzan
   A winged predator.

Kukses
   Slang for a revived corpse from necromancer.

Marshes of Erlika
   Located beyond the Katugian Mountains, they occupy vast reaches of the northeastern part of the Empire. They are famous for the fact that one of the Damned, Cholera, perished in them together with her army during the War of the Necromancers.

Morassia
   A small country renowned throughout Hara for its masterful weapons-makers, jewelers, and inventors.

Mort
   A product of the magic of the Sdisian sorcerers. These creations are not alive, but they are not dead either. They cut off their own noses, ears, and tongues, and they carve monstrous scars into their faces. Legends abound about the cruelty, resilience, and resourcefulness of these creatures. They have not appeared in the lands of the Empire since the War of the Necromancers.

Nabator
   A large and powerful kingdom beyond the Boxwood Mountains. It wars with the Empire over the south, which at the dawn of time belonged to Nabator.

Nirit
   A race inhabiting Bragun-Zan. They are fairly tolerant of humans, but they do not recognize themselves as citizens of the Empire. The Nirit are ruled by their Queen, or Zan-Nakun (The Ash Maiden). The Nirit worship Mount Groh-ner-Tohh.

Okni
   A large city located between the Katugian Mountains and the Isthmuses of Lina.

Overlords
   A title the Damned give themselves.

Paths of Petals
   Portals created by the Sculptor, capable of moving people unimaginable distances in a few moments. Only a Walker can activate a portal. The Sculptor did not reveal the secret of the creation of the Petals before his death, so no one else had the ability to create a new portal.

During the Dark Revolt, the Mother of the Walkers, Sorita, managed to lull the portals to sleep, and since that time they have ceased to operate. All attempts to awaken them have been unsuccessful.

Rainbow Valley
   The magical school of the Walkers is located in the Rainbow Valley.

Sandon
   Forests to the east of the Empire, near the Boxwood Mountains. They are inhabited by the Highborn.

Sculptor
   The greatest mage in the history of Hara. He created many of the most prominent buildings, as well as the Paths of Petals.

Sdis
   Southern country, supporting necromancers.

Shot
   A bounty hunter of those who are declared criminals by the city magistrates.

Snow Trolls
   A race that lives in the Icy Lands. There are very few of them. They are allies of the northerners.

Sorita
   A Mother of the Walkers; she perished during the Dark Revolt.

Steps of the Hangman
   Created by mages three hundred years before the Sculptor. It is a man-made pass through the Katugian Mountains in the form of a narrow stairway with an enormous number of steps and fortifications. It leads to the north of the Empire from the southern provinces.

Superiors
   The sorcerer-necromancers of the Eighth Sphere, the most powerful mages of Sdis, who go through their training under the supervision of Leprosy. The Superiors hold all the power over their country, subject only to the Damned.

Uloron (The Country of Oaks)
   The first homeland of the Highborn. It consists of the forests near the Katugian Mountains, conquered by the Empire from this race and returned after the conclusion of peace in exchange for the eastern part of the Boxwood Mountains and the Eastern Lands.