Journey into the Void (53 page)

I
T IS A TEMPTATION FOR THE CHRONICLER TO END THE JOURNEYINGS
of our heroes with this momentous event and pronounce that they lived happily ever after. The truth is that the journey of their lives did not end here, but continued on, albeit in directions that none of them could have anticipated. Their lives were forever changed by the Sovereign Stone, and that is the fate of the hero.

Raven returned to the taan, bearing with him the story of K'let and how he had sacrificed himself to prove that Dagnarus was not a god. The taan were skeptical and more than inclined to think that Raven was lying and were ready to slay him. The shaman, Derl, confirmed the truth of Raven's story, however, as did the taan Vrykyl Nb'arsk, who had witnessed much of what had happened through the Blood-knife. Instead of being tortured and slain, Raven was formally proclaimed a taan and accepted fully into the tribe. From that day forth, no taan ever referred to him as xkes.

Klendist reported to the authorities that a Trevinici had turned traitor and was living with the enemy, with the result that the Karnuans and the Dunkargans both put out bounties on Raven's head. In order to find peace, Raven eventually led his tribe of taan and half-taan back through the Portal to the taan's ancient land, a harsh and brutal and savage realm, where the taan gods were glad to welcome their lost children home.

Having defeated the taan, the Karnuans—being in a martial mood—turned their steely eyes on weakened Vinnengael, floundering about
without a king. The officers of the Imperial Cavalry School in Krammes, alerted by Baron Shadamehr, acted quickly to establish order in the city of New Vinnengael. They reinforced the border and took back the Portal at Delak 'Vir. The Karnuans, disappointed, decided instead to pounce upon weakened Dunkarga, which they did.

Wolfram returned to the dwarven lands, where he joined the clan of Kolost, whose fame and glory and great deeds spread across the dwarven nation like lightning-struck fire, which would soon engulf the world.

Damra and Griffith returned to Tromek to do battle against the Shield, a struggle that was long and terrible, for the Shield allied himself with Shakur and several remaining Vrykyl. Before it was finally finished, the battle extended even into the realm of elven dead. One of Damra's first actions, on returning to her land, was to ensure that House Kinnoch was once more restored to a place of honor among the elven Houses.

Bashae was laid to rest in the burial mound that held the body of Lord Gustav. The pecwae joined the ranks of the honored Trevinici dead and, to this day, when the great warriors of history are summoned to aid the living, Bashae takes his place proudly alongside the likes of Ale Guzzler, Skull-Basher, and Bear-Mauler.

Although Jessan had no liking for cities, he found the life of a farmer too dull for his taste, and he was persuaded to travel with a group of his fellow Trevinici to Nimorea, where he served as a mercenary with the army. While there, he renewed his friendship with Arim, the kite-maker, and—so it is rumored—occasionally performed secret missions for the Nimorean Queen.

Ranessa swore Jessan to secrecy regarding the fact that she was a dragon, for it would never do for the Trevinici to know that they had inadvertently reared a dragon child in their midst. (They would have been deeply suspicious of their own children ever after.) Ranessa never returned to the Trevinici. She remained at Dragon Mountain and eventually took over guardianship of the monks upon the death of her mother.

The Grandmother found life intolerable on her return home. The pecwae were so glad to see her and so grief-stricken over Bashae that she could not stand the weeping and wailing. Taking her newly made agate-eyed stick, the Grandmother bid them all good-bye and departed in search of her sleep city. She never returned, and no one ever discovered what became of her.

As for Shadamehr and Alise, the where and how of their eventual marriage was never known, for he would only laugh heartily whenever it was mentioned, at which Alise would fly into a rage and refuse to speak to him for days on end. They apparently loved as heartily as they quarreled, however, for the barony was soon overrun with red-haired children. Though how they found time to either create them or raise them was a mystery to their friends, for they were either off in Tromek assisting the elven cause, or getting themselves nearly killed fighting with the orks to liberate Mount Sa 'Gra, or working with the Council of Dominion Lords to establish new guidelines for their continuation in the absence of the Sovereign Stone, in which the baron, as the new head of the Council, took a very interested and active part.

Last, it is a great temptation for the chronicler of this history to write that the downfall of Dagnarus caused those who had been responsible for his defeat to be honored as heroes throughout Loerem. The truth is that most of Loerem's people were so intent upon living their own lives that they soon forgot the Lord of the Void and those heroes who had sacrificed so much to stop him.

Which, as the Captain, in her wisdom, pointed out, is as it should be, for returning life to the living is the goal of the hero.