Rise of the Red Harbinger (19 page)

“Lionsday? What do you mean? What is Lionsday?”

“Did your father never teach ya the names fer the days o’ the week, boy?”

“Where I’m from, we never bothered to name the days.”

“What cave were ya livin’ in then? The whole world knows the days o’ the week! I wish part o’ my vision was ta see how uneducated ya are!”

Farco returned with two cups of steaming tea. They smelled of ginger and honey. He set one down on the table in front of Baltaszar and, after setting down the old man’s, took the man’s hand to the cup. Baltaszar was still sore from the insult. “Instead of belittling me, teach me.”

“Ah, a boy who’s willin’ ta learn. Good, then. Are ya familiar with the Harbingers o’ the Orijin?”

Again these Harbingers? How much of this world and life don’t I know?
“I am aware that there were Harbingers, but I know nothing of them.”

“The original three were Cerys, Magnus, an’ Taurean. Centuries later, the Orijin chose five more. They were Abram, Gideon, Lionel, Darian, an’ Jahmash.” The old man counted on his fingers as he named them, “Eight in total. Jahmash betrayed the rest, which leaves seven Harbingers that the world presently honors. Seven Harbingers, seven days o’ the week.”

Baltaszar nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. So what are the names of the days then?”

“The week begins with Cersday, after Cerys, because she was a lady. Then ya have Magnaday, Taursday, Abraday, Gidsday, Lionsday, an’ Dariday. I assume ya can see the connection ta the original names?”

“Yes, yes. I am not as stupid as you believe. And by the way, you haven’t told me your name.”

The old man smiled again, “Eh, when yer old like me, ya sometimes forget introductions because ya assume everyone knows who ya are by now. My name is Munn. Munn Keeramm.”

Maybe I can finally get some answers.
Baltaszar sipped his tea, which tasted even better than it smelled. The honey gave it a nice smooth taste while the ginger added a small kick of spice afterward. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Keeramm. I am wondering, do you have some time to educate me? At least a little? You are not the first person in the past few days to talk about these ‘Harbingers’. Tell me about them. Please.”

Munn waved his hand dismissively. “O’ course, my boy, o’ course I will teach ya. I’m used ta ya young folk always rushin’ off. Farco here is just like that, always in a rush, except with the tea. Very well, then. Farco boy, make a whole pot a tea an’ leave it on the table.” Farco disappeared into the other room once again. “I have ta warn ya, boy, this will take some time.”

“I don’t have anywhere to rush off to.”

Munn smiled widely at that, “Good, good, son. Then I can tell this right. All right, well, somewhere around a thousand years after the Orijin put people in the world; he grew a bit annoyed at ‘em. Ya see, people became bad, lyin’, stealin’, killin’, all kinds o’ sinful things. So Orijin, what He did was He chose three people, Cerys, Magnus, an’ Taurean, an’ blessed ‘em with the power ta do some amazin’ things. Things regular people couldn’t do, an’ so the Orijin intended fer people ta look up ta these three.

“Ya see, they were stronger an’ smarter an’ better than everyone else. Real heroes. Real leaders. Fer years, them three traveled the whole world spreadin’ the Orijin’s message, convincin’ people ta act right.”

Baltaszar furrowed his brow. “Where were these three from? Taurean, Cerys, and Magnus? And why did the Orijin choose them specifically?”

Munn nodded in approval, “Good questions, boy, very good. Well, the world was a much different place at that time, much bigger. The nations an’ cities we have today weren’t the same. Even Ashur, this continent we live on, was much different. Everythin’ changed once Darian came along an’ drowned the world. But that’s a part o’ the story that will come much later. Where was I again?”

“Where Cerys, Magnus, and Taurean were from. And why they were chosen.”

“Yes, yes. Right. They were from very different parts o’ the world, which is part o’ why they were chosen. The Orijin chose ‘em when they were young, even younger than ya. They weren’t educated, couldn’t read, weren’t wealthy, didn’t come from very devout families. An’ that was the point! He chose them because they were already humble an’ had good hearts. They weren’t seekin’ power an’ didn’t have enemies.

“So they each spread the message an’ gained followers an’ traveled from nation ta nation. City ta city. In fact, they didn’t even meet one another ‘til their work was done. Accordin’ ta the scriptures, they were aware o’ an’ accepted one another, but the three didn’t meet until over ten years after they’d begun spreadin’ the word. Magnus an’ Cerys married each other eventually, Taurean married someone else, went off inta the forest an’ started his own family. Eventually, two o’ Taurean’s daughters even married Magnus’ an’ Cerys’ boys.”

“So what happened to them? They just lived normal lives after that?”

“Sure they did! They still did what they could ta inspire people an’ preach an’ such, but the world had gotten better under their watch. They grew old an’ eventually died peaceful deaths. The problems came again after they died though. The world followed their example fer a few hundred years, but things got worse again, o’ course.

“An’ that’s where the Five came in. The first set o’ The Orijin’s Harbingers were called ‘The Three’. Second Harbingers were ‘The Five’. The world got much worse than before. It wasn’t just crimes anymore, there were wars goin’ on. Stupid wars over borders an’ rights ta thrones an’ money. The Orijin chose five this time, though ya ask me, mighta been wise ta choose more. Jahmash, Darian, Abram, Gideon, an’ Lionel. Orijin chose ‘em the same way. Young, humble, good hearts, all from different parts o’ the world.

“That was the extent o’ the similarities though. For the Five, the Orijin blessed ‘em differently. He endowed ‘em each with a specific, different ability, stronger an’ more outrageous than what the Three could ever even imagine. O’ course, to keep em in control, the Orijin also gave them a weakness. I suppose it was a safeguard to keep ‘em from abusin’ their powers.

“So Abram was the Traveler. Ya see, he could blink in an out, disappear, an’ show up somewhere else. Boy, I’m blind an’ I tell ya, that would still scare me outta my wits. Just imagine how somethin’ like that would affect people a nearly thousand years ago.” Farco reentered the room with a pot of steaming tea and set it down on the table after filling Baltaszar’s and Munn’s cups. “Anyway, Abram sought out the other four. The Five traveled the world together, a band o’ heroes, although they were all barely men when they first met. I tell ya though, Baltaszar, they brought some kinda order ta this world. But it wasn’t without sacrifice.

“I told ya how they each had their weaknesses. Gideon was the youngest, but that boy was somethin’. He was able ta turn things ta stone, but he was so very afraid of death. An’ I suppose that’s what makes Gideon so much more incredible. He’s really the one who set things in motion fer the whole world. That’s when everyone got scared. Ya see, there was a great battle brewin’. One a Jahmash’s abilities was ta be able ta persuade people ta see things the right way. But Gideon didn’t want Jahmash ta interfere with tryin’ ta change the minds o’ the soldiers on either side o’ the battle. The way Gideon saw it was, people should have ta think fer themselves sometimes, or they’d never learn.

“So Gideon told both armies ta stop fightin’, ta turn around, go home, an’ decide on a peaceful resolution. Course, nobody listened, the boy was barely sixteen. So once both sides had lined up, ready ta fight, Gideon walked right in between ‘em, raised his hands ta the sky, an’ turned everything ta stone, himself included.”

“I don’t understand. Why would he do that to himself? Did it wear off after a while?”

Munn continued, “No, no, dear boy. That was part o’ the point, ya see. Gideon sacrificed his self so the whole world would understand. So everyone would feel how important it was. It was a very meanin’ful thing, fer him ta die. If he’d a just turned the armies ta stone, people woulda just been afraid. He didn’t want that. He wanted them ta see what their choices were doin ta him. Here was a boy o’ sixteen, who gave up his life ta fix the world. An’ it worked! People saw the stones or got word o’ them, an’ they realized two things. One, all the fightin’ was pointless an’ futile, an’ two, the Five had humanity’s best interest in mind.”

Baltaszar sipped his tea and set the cup down. “Wait. You said that was part of the point, to make humanity see his motivation. But what was his other reason for sacrificing himself?”

“Ya see, boy, the thing with these Harbingers, well the Five anyway, was that whatever they used their abilities fer would be permanent once they died. Sure, they could reverse things if they chose, but death made things unchangeable. Gideon sacrificed his self so that the stone battlefield would be an example fer all time.”

“You’re saying the battlefield is still there? That people can actually go to it? See it? Touch it?”

“Oh sure they can. It’s over a week’s ride from here, next ta the royal city o’ Alvadon in Cerysia. Well, in theory, people can. King Edmund doesn’t allow it any longer though; he doesn’t much care fer the Harbingers an’ what they stand fer. But the whole thing is there, boy. I’ve met a few people who have seen it an’ they say it’s an incredible sight.”

“Incredible. Tell me more about the others. The rest of the Five. Please.”

Munn cautiously reached out for his teacup, then gulped down the contents. “Fill my cup, if ya don’t mind. All this storytellin’ makes an old man thirsty.” Baltaszar refilled the cup and sat back down. “Thank ya, boy. Well, where was I again? Oh, right…the others. Well, ya see, after Gideon’s death, the job fer the others got much easier. Sure there were some battles they had ta fight. Some people are stubborn fer the sake o’ bein stubborn. But I’d say within three or four years after Gideon died, the Harbingers’ work was done. In fact, people loved ‘em. Especially Darian an’ Lionel. Lionel, ya see, could speak any language. Ya can understand how people would be drawn ta that. We all want ta be understood an’ heard. Lionel didn’t much care fer recognition though. He preferred ta keep a low profile, an’ so he tucked his self away in some quiet corner o’ the world.

“The other three, Abram, Jahmash, an’ Darian, they stayed close together in what’s now the City o’ the Fallen. I can’t remember what the old name was, but that city has been around since their time. That’s why so many people want ta go see it. Anyway, them three were tight as can be. I told ya how the Orijin ensured they each had their weaknesses? Well that’s how it all fell apart, ya see.

“Abram was rather quiet. That boy just liked ta be included, remembered. His biggest fear was that he would end up lonely an’ be forgotten. But his friendship with Darian an’ Jahmash counteracted that anyway. The other two though, I suppose nobody saw it comin. I mean, how could ya? Darian was the most charismatic o’ the Harbingers. People loved him; he was a very good speaker an’ could befriend anyone. His greatest vice was women though. The books document that he had twelve wives an’ even more children, but that’s the ones that were known. There could very well have been more.”

“So this man that the whole world still adores—he treated women this way? How could humanity accept that?”

“I can understand how you would be confused, Baltaszar. But here’s the thing, ya see. Darian wasn’t necessarily a rascal. Like I said, these women were his wives, not his mistresses. Legend says that Darian truly loved ‘em all, an’ never let any o’ them want fer anythin’. It’s recorded that they all accepted one another an’ got along. I suppose that’s strange by today’s standards, but who are we to judge?

“Where was I now? Oh yes! Now Jahmash, he had two weaknesses. An’ if ya ask me, the Orijin gave him a bad deal. Not that I’m defendin’ him, though. Jahmash was known ta be very jealous, even o’ the people he loved, an’ aside o’ bathin’, he was deathly afraid o’ water. Now, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, boy, but, well, Darian’s Orijin-blessed ability was controllin water.”

“Goodness, I think I can see where this was going. Did Jahmash grow jealous of Darian and his wives?”

“Not quite, dear boy, but ya almost have the right idea.” Munn gulped more tea. “Because o’ the way Darian was, he got most o’ the attention an’ glory. Jahmash his self wasn’t nasty or anythin’, but people were just more drawn ta Darian. An’ I suppose that would lead to lots o’ feelins buildin’ up inside o’ Jahmash. Which is just what happened. Jahmash likely held his jealousy fer a while. Ya see, he married a woman named Jaya, who was the sister o’ one o’ Darian’s wives. Around this time, people around the world were callin’ fer Darian ta be their king. I’m not quite sure how that woulda worked, if there was a king already or anythin’, but regardless, Darian refused. He didn’t want the glory or attention, an’ he knew what Jahmash was like. Darian didn’t want ta start trouble.

“Even though Darian refused, Jahmash still held a grudge about it…ya know, that Darian was asked an’ he wasn’t. I think that was the thing that did Jahmash in. That Darian could have so many wives an’ children, an’ the people still loved him more than Jahmash. Fer one thing, it ruined Jahmash’s marriage. Jahmash grew obsessed with provin’ that he was better than Darian, over time he spoke out more an’ more in public against Darian, an’ insulted him. Darian made his attempts ta talk behind closed doors, but Jahmash simply shunned him. He wouldn’t even speak ta Darian anymore.

“What blew everythin’ ta chaos was that Darian went ta Jaya ta discuss whether there was any way ta resolve the whole mess. Ya see, that’s what made Darian better than Jahmash. Despite everythin’, Darian still sought a way ta remain friends, ta put it behind them. Regardless o’ everythin’ Jahmash was sayin an’ doin, Darian was willing ta forgive. Where was I again?”