Gorinthians (56 page)

“
But
I
will think you look
positively dashing,” Cha’le replied with a little glint in her eye,
“and it is my opinion you are worried about, isn’t
it?”

Lendel felt the trap close
around him like a noose around his neck. On the journey to
Shalilayo, he had taken Cha’le aside and talked with her regarding
her animosity toward Lori. One of the resolutions they agreed upon
was that if Cha’le treated Lori like a person, then Lendel had to
let Cha’le choose what he would wear. Lendel had not thought much
of it on the journey, because he only had a few changes of clothes,
none of which he had a problem wearing. As Lendel thought about the
implications involved in their resolution now that he had a new
wardrobe, he wondered if it would be better to let Cha’le treat
Lori like a boundary intruder.

As if Cha’le could read his
thoughts, she shook her head firmly. “I hope you are not thinking
about going back on our resolution.”

“
Only a little,” Lendel
admitted with a sigh. “I suppose fair is fair.”

Lendel pulled on the frilly
shirt and began buttoning it up. Maybe he could make small
modifications to it throughout the day; she might not
notice.

“
Thistledown is in the
throne room with Celdic right now,” Cha’le informed him as he
pulled on his boots. “They are looking at some strange triangular
object.”

“
Good,” Lendel grunted as
he stomped his boots on tight. “Let’s go talk with him.”

“
Not so fast,” Cha’le said
commandingly. “Let me fix your hair.”

Lendel’s eyes widened
slightly. The two of them had been debating his shoulder-length
hair for years, with Lendel always insisting his hair remain long.
It seemed Cha’le planned to take full advantage of their newfound
resolution. She watched him with an impish grin and a triumphant
light in her large eyes. Sighing, Lendel sat down and waited for
her to do her worst.

Cha’le wet his hair down and
began combing it with a brush she must have brought with her. A
moment later, she stood back. “There, that’s better. Now we can
go.”

Lendel stood up slowly,
unsure if she were toying with him. “You aren’t going to cut
it?”

“
Maybe next time,” she
replied with a mysterious smile. “This time, I’ll let you keep
it.”

Lendel sighed in relief. He
liked having his hair shoulder-length. It had been that length for
so long it was one of his defining characteristics. Reaching over
to the table next to his bed, Lendel grabbed his weapons and
strapped on his sword belt. Cha’le was wearing the same skirt she
had worn at the cottage. It was made of red silk, with slashes of
cream. There was a small, jeweled dagger on each side of her waist
just barely visible beneath her white blouse. Lendel knew she also
had two daggers tucked into her boot-tops, and two more tucked into
her skirt. Lendel guessed the jeweled waist-necklace was probably
made of very sharp objects as well. She had wrapped her
honey-blonde hair in two ponytails, which made her look younger
than she really was.

The two of them moved out of
the large bedchamber and into the labyrinth of corridors. Lendel
had no idea where to go, but Cha’le seemed to know exactly where
she was going. She walked purposefully ahead of him, her long legs
managing to keep her moving quickly while maintaining the grace of
a cat. Her skirt made a swishing noise that fascinated Lendel for
some reason. Maybe that was its purpose. They continued turning
left and right and then left again for about a quarter hour before
entering a large hall.

The first thing that caught
Lendel’s eye was a large, three-dimensional triangle sitting above
a padded throne at the end of the hall. There was a small cutout in
the triangular object. He wondered if it was by design, or if
something was stored inside of it.

Loud echoes bounced around
the room as he and Cha’le moved toward the throne where Thistledown
and Celdic stood studying the triangular object. The two of them
did not look up until he and Cha’le joined them in their
examination of the strange object. It was as tall as Lendel and
consisted of many tiles staggered together like bricks for a house.
The reason it had caught Lendel’s attention as soon as he entered
the room was because it glowed a light green color.

“
What is it?” He asked
Thistledown curiously.

“
It’s a catalyst,”
Thistledown replied in a slightly distracted tone.

“
Why does it glow like
that?” Lendel asked the little man.

“
It’s made of Prenium,”
Celdic replied when Thistledown remained silent. “Prenium is a kind
of ore that naturally glows like that.”

Lendel could tell
Thistledown was busy, but his curiosity became too strong to stay
silent. “Thistledown, were the Gorinthians always the way they are
now?”

Celdic and Cha’le both
turned to stare at him curiously. It was an odd question.
Thistledown turned to look at Lendel sharply, “Why do you
ask?”

“
I was just wondering,”
Lendel lied. He did not want to tell the little man about his
dreams. Especially if some of them turned out to be
true.

“
No, they were not always
like they are now,” Thistledown replied, looking at Lendel closely,
as if he knew Lendel was holding something back. “They were
initially created by Jerard to act as Guardians of the Law in a
city he founded.”

“
What happened?” Lendel
asked, though he already knew. He needed to hear it from
Thistledown.

“
The Guardians liked
possessing people too much,” Thistledown replied, watching Lendel
carefully. “When some of the neighboring cities received reports of
their citizens being possessed by Jerard’s Guardians and committing
acts of rape, murder and other crimes they were created to protect
against, the cities demanded that Jerard disband his Guardians.
Jerard accused the neighboring cities of being jealous and
narrow-minded. When he refused to disband, the cities united, thus
beginning the Great War that ended civilization.”

Lendel nodded slowly. Both
stories sounded plausible. The truth was probably lost, if a truth
even existed. “How do Jerard’s Guardians possess a person without
killing them? Don’t the Gorinthians expel the former
Spirit?”

“
The Guardians Jerard
created were only able to inhabit a human host for a short time,”
Thistledown explained. “They have what are called Trenchants that
latch on to a host’s Tramnel. When everyone knew them as Guardians,
the Trenchants came closer to resembling tentacles, which they used
to wrap around a host’s Tramnel. Shortly after the Great War began,
Terrance created the first Barium Chasel. He made it in order to
burn the tentacles off the Guardians. Unfortunately, it only burned
them partially off, leaving sharp barbs that they named Trenchants
because they dug a deep trench into a host’s Tramnel. When the
trench was dug, the former Spirit could no longer hang on to the
host.”

“
So Terrance is the one
that made Gorinthians?” Lendel asked with a raised
eyebrow.

Cha’le stared at Lendel in
shock. Celdic scowled at him, looking slightly hurt, but mostly
angry. “Yes, Terrance changed them into what they are now,”
Thistledown agreed calmly, “but it was Jerard that organized them
into an army intent on preying on humans like we prey on cattle. I
will be the first to admit that good intentions often pave the road
to destruction; however, without them, you don’t need a road to
destruction because it finds its way to you.”

Echoing footfalls
interrupted their discussion. Lendel turned to watch as a small
procession of people filed into the room, led by a soldier with
numerous badges of rank on his chest. He was at least a head
shorter than Lendel and not nearly as broad. Even with the size
differences, he looked like he was made from old leather. His face
was clean-shaven, revealing a middle-aged face with hard-set, blue
eyes. His boots were gleaming and his blue and red uniform looked
like it had never been worn. His very appearance exuded the idea of
discipline. A real stick in the mud, Lendel thought to
himself.

“
Ah, Captain Kerns,”
Thistledown greeted the officer with a reserved smile. “Thank you
for coming so soon.”

“
I must admit, you have
captured my interest,” Captain Kerns said, studying the youths with
interest. “I take it that this one is Terrance’s son.” Captain
Kerns nodded toward Celdic, who nodded back at him
gravely.

“
Indeed it is,” Thistledown
answered smoothly. “His name is Celdic. The other two are Lendel
and Cha’le.”

Captain Kerns inclined his
head to each of them. “There have been reports about a city of some
kind up in the mountains above Millport, but no one has ever been
able to confirm them.”

“
They like to keep the city
a secret,” Thistledown explained. “They even have specially-trained
Guardians that patrol the border to make sure that strangers do not
enter.”

“
We might need to discuss
this special training sometime,” Captain Kerns told him with
interest, “but that can wait. Let me introduce you to our
host.”

Captain Kerns turned to face
the small entourage of people who had entered behind him. A
broad-faced woman in a blue silk dress stepped forward with a
smile.

“
This is the heir to the
throne, Princess Sentina,” Captain Kerns introduced her with a bow,
“and this is Count Trellnar, brother to Duke Terran.”

“
It is a pleasure, my
lady,” Thistledown said with a smooth bow. “I am happy to see you
survived the night. It was quite brisk when I woke up this
morning.”

Sentina’s smile faltered
slightly, “Brisk? Yes, it was rather. I hope your chamber fires
were well-attended.”

“
Quite so, my lady,”
Thistledown replied with a feral smile. “It would be my pleasure to
introduce Duke Terran’s heir, Celdic.”

Princess Sentina inclined
her head slightly, studying Celdic closely. Lendel felt a flash of
surprise as she studied Celdic’s hidden weapon pockets for several
moments with pursed lips. “I understand you were raised away from
your estates. How do you like your first visit to
Shalilayo?”

Celdic cleared his throat,
trying not to look uncomfortable in the sudden limelight. “It is
very beautiful,” Celdic said, studying her as much as she studied
him. “I look forward to visiting the University.”

Princess Sentina blinked,
slightly taken aback, and then smiled to cover it. Lendel realized
she had expected Celdic to address her as Thistledown had
done.

“
I would also like to
introduce Celdic’s half sister, Cha’le, and her companion, Lendel.”
Thistledown covered the embarrassed silence. “If I could impose
upon your hospitality more than I have already, I would like to
discuss some private matters with your Highness.”

Princess Sentina nodded
graciously, gesturing toward a door behind the throne. “The private
council room is this way.”

Several of the other finely
dressed nobles who had accompanied the princess to the throne room
looked disappointed as the youths followed Thistledown and Captain
Kerns into the council room. When they realized they were excluded,
they began chatting among themselves as they waited for more of
their fellow nobles to arrive.

The council room into which
Princess Sentina led them was large enough for fifty people. A
large circular table surrounded by cushioned chairs filled most of
it. There were a few display tables along the walls with strangely
shaped sculptures. When his
yar
scanned one of the strange sculptures, he gasped
in surprise. The way his
yar
soaked into the strange sculpture sent a strong
surge of awe and euphoria rushing through his being. Cha’le and
Celdic were experimenting with the other sculptures, evidenced by
the way their faces lit up with amazement.

Princess Sentina studied the
youths with puzzlement as they studied the twisted objects. “Are
these sculptures somehow significant where they come from?” she
asked Thistledown curiously.

“
They have
never seen them before,” Thistledown informed her as he studied the
objects himself. “These were placed here by the Department of
Arcane Arts, and only those who can use their
yar
can understand the true
significance these sculptures represent.”

“
Ferrich used to spend
hours just staring at these,” Princess Sentina murmured softly. “I
never understood he was seeing something that I was
not.”

“
That is
part of why we are here,” Thistledown told her gravely. “Humanity
has lost most of its ability to sense
yar
, with few exceptions. The four
youths I brought with me represent the only hope of restoring what
was lost to humanity.”

“
Restore what was lost?”
Princess Sentina questioned with a glance at the three youths.
“What is it they are going to restore?”

“
The
ability for every human to once again use their yar,” Thistledown
told her, “and to a lesser extent, the planet's
yar
.”