Shaping Magic (23 page)

Lindon was losing himself in a rush of self-pity when he could feel a presence beside him. Turning, he saw an elf, but not like the ones back at camp. What stood before him was an Elf free of all flaws. There was no trace of the look of arrogance that seemed to be on just about every Elf he had ever met. Instead there was a look of extreme peace.

Lindon had only ever felt the same once before—far underground in the old witch’s cavern. The Dwarven god, Gal Nola, had the same feeling surrounding him as did the Elf standing before him. The only difference was this time he was fully awake and in complete awe.

Unsure of what the protocol was when meeting a god, Lindon just stood there, shocked that not one but two of the worlds gods had shown themselves to him.

“Be at peace, Lindon,” the god softly said to him.

Lindon swallowed nervously, waiting for the Elven god to speak again.

“Know that we are pleased with all you have done. Bringing the three peoples together in this place is quite an accomplishment.”

Lindon stared at the perfection of the god for a full minute before he found his voice. “I truly thank you for your praise, but I fear it is not enough to face the coming battles,” Lindon told him.

“Fear not, my young friend. Though you are correct, it is nonetheless the building blocks for an army unlike any that has been seen before. Only when you find the rest of my people will you have the army you will need to confront the mistake.”

Lindon was momentarily shocked to hear the Elven god speak of the mistake; he didn't think they would admit to the possibility that one of them could ever error, but Lindon was wise enough not to mention it.

“I don't understand. I have been to the Elven homeland.” Bowing his head in sadness, Lindon continued. “I was too late to save them, and barely made it out alive.”

“Though I mourn the loss of my people that were laid low from one of the Merrow, those are not the ones I speak of. Far to the west, across the great ocean, where many of my people left this land for, when Humans first started to roam the land. They had decided to leave; it was too small to handle the Humans, Dwarfs, and Elves. So they left, but what no one here knows, is that they also took Humans as servants.

“Whereas the Elves of this land decided to isolate themselves—which ultimately led to their demise—the ones that left decided to live with Humans, and now after so many years they have both lived with and many married to humans have created offspring that are now half of each race and, as such, are stronger for it.”

Lindon was shocked at the possibilities; they may stand a chance after all. A sobering thought occurred to him. “My Lord, I have heard stories from traders that if the Elves or even the humans ever came across a half breed, they were put to death just for being alive.”

“Yes, that has been the way in this land. When we created the races, we made another mistake. It was never our intention that they remain separate, but we gave free will and then watched as they grew. If we had known, we may have joined together and made the peoples as one. I tell you this so you will know all that you will face. For as powerful as we are, we are not infallible. It is no different then the Merrow—for a strong as they seem, they too make mistakes. Your duty is to find what those mistakes are and use them against them.”

Lindon had many questions he wanted to ask, but before he could ask, the Elven god said, “Your friends approach; tell them nothing of this meeting. You know what it is you must do and where you need to go. Convince them to go with you.” The Elven god began to fade. “One more thing: Only the four must go on the journey.”

Lindon was staring at the spot where the god had stood when his friends approached. Without looking up, he said. “I must ask you to trust in me, one more time.”

The three stopped. Donovan spoke. “What is it that you need of us?”

Looking up at their faces in the fading light, Lindon said, “We must leave once again to go across the ocean to find help; we cannot defeat the Merrow as we are now. Only there may we find the help we need.” The tone of his voice was sobering.

Donovan, the rock Lindon had come to depend on so much, spoke again. “When do we leave?” he asked.

Lindon was truly thankful that his friends would stand by him even when what he said or did sounded crazy, even to himself. Looking up into the darkening sky, he could feel a chill in the air. “We have no time to waste; the season is turning and we must hurry. Tomorrow morning, please pack everything we will need for a long trip.” Lindon was a little embarrassed when he added, “Does anyone know how we can get across the ocean?”

Both Aina and Donovan broke out into laughter. Leave it to Lindon to come up with a crazy idea and then have no idea how to do it.

Nara wasn't laughing. “Yes,” she said simply.

Lindon waited for the Ork to clarify what she meant, but she just stood there silently.

When Donovan stopped laughing, he asked, “Well lass, don't just leave us in suspense. How are we supposed to cross an ocean that—as far as I know—no one since the Elves has ever attempted?”

“We are going to steal one of the Ork ships and sail across ourselves,” she told them.

Lindon was glad that he wasn't the only one at a loss at what she was talking about.

“Do you mean to say that Orks have made the journey across?” Aina asked, worried that her people could possibly be under attack from the Orks even now.

“No, I didn't say that, only that we have ships that are capable of making the trip. They are mainly used to fish far out in the ocean where the fish are huge and plentiful.”

“How many are needed to sail them?” Lindon asked, worried, remembering that the Elven god had told him that only the four of them could go.

“With a little effort I believe the four of us shouldn't have too much trouble.”

“Have you ever sailed one?” Donovan asked.

“Well, not exactly sailed one, but I have been on them plenty of times and have seen how it's done,” she said with confidence.

“This ought to be very interesting, something new to tell the grandchildren. That is if I survive,” Donovan said with a chuckle.

“One thing more; only the four of us can go and I don't want anyone to know where we are going, only that we go to search for help in the coming war,” Lindon told his friends.

The three of them looked at each other before turning to Lindon. As one, they said, “Agreed.” Donovan continued, “Not only because you ask, but because if any knew, they would think us out of our mind for ever attempting such a journey.”

“Now to break the news to my grandmother and the others,” Lindon said. He was not looking forward to the conversation.

“What about the army? You have kind of been appointed the leader, and you don't want it to fall apart in your absence,” Aina told Lindon.

“I have been thinking of that. I think the best thing to do is gather the people that we trust from each group, organize them, tell them some of what we plan to do, and hope they will be up to the challenge.”

“My people will be, and I would imagine so would the Elves, but the worry is the humans. Who can you trust besides Arden and your grandmother?” Donovan asked.

“I think I have likely candidates in mind. We won't know until we try, but this is truly important. Without reinforcements, we will lose the war,” Lindon said with dread. “You saw what attacked your people in the tunnels,” he said to Donovan. “Do you think that is the extent of the Merrow and the king’s army? I don't.”

Donovan was silent, thinking on what Lindon said. He hadn't really thought about it, but Lindon was right. As they stood now, they wouldn't stand a chance if they were attacked. Without more soldiers, they were beaten before they even started. “Do you think we will be able to leave in the morning? There is a lot to do before we will be able to go. I mean, you have to find the right people, tell them all that they have to do, and probably make sure they start doing it right.”

“Yes, I do; I believe the people that I have in mind are the right men for the job, and I don't expect they will know any less than I do about running the army. Besides, both Arden and Aodhan will be here to do the actual leading and the training. What I need are good men, the kind that the others will trust and follow orders from.”

“You know your people better than we do. I just hope you’re right; it won't be much of an army if all that's left are the Dwarfs and the Elves,” Donovan said with a smile to take away the sting of his doubt.

Lindon returned the smile. “So do I, but we really don't have much of a choice. The weather will start to turn bad, and we have a long way to go. I don't know about you, but traveling in the snow is not my idea of fun.”

“True enough; if we want to leave by morning we had better get started organizing everything that needs doing,” Donovan stated.

Chapter 24

Lindon had not counted on the resistance to their leaving. When Aina told her people that she would be leaving again, they lost their normally calm demure. Piran, her steward, was the most vocal. He was adamant that if she were to leave, her people would suffer and as queen she should put their needs above her own.

Donovan was having the same argument. Barden, the late king’s assistant, and Kailid were both arguing the need for Donovan to stay with his people.

Lindon was having a little better luck. He had sent for both Nealon and Dermot, both of whom had been the spokesmen when the humans had tried to take weapons from the Dwarfs. They were now both staunchly devoted to Lindon.

It was his grandmother and Arden who were showing sings of resistance to his leaving without them.

“I don't understand why we can’t go with you. If it is as necessary to go as you say, I would think you would welcome our company,” Cora said for the third time.

It was hard to try to explain that he, Aina, Donovan, and Nara had to go alone without telling her why. He was about to try again when his newly promoted generals were shown in by Annan, Aodhan’s assistant.

“You called for us, my lord?” Nealon asked.

“Yes, thank you both for coming. I will be going on a long journey and I will need both of your help. You will be working with Arden and Aodhan in the training of your men,” Lindon told the man.

“I don't understand, my lord. You are our leader. We need you here,” Dermot asserted.

Lindon was going to explain when Aina, her steward, and Donovan, along with Barden and Kailid, entered the command tent. They were still arguing as they entered. The noise of their protests was getting louder and louder. On one side of Lindon, his grandmother and Arden joined with Nealon and Dermot in arguing with Lindon, and on the other side it was the Donovan and Aina arguing with their people.

The pressure inside of Lindon's head started to build; he finally couldn't take it and yelled “ENOUGH!” Lindon's shout stopped all the arguments, and he stepped forward.  “What we face is not to be underestimated, and what we have here is no match for them. Just the force that attacked the Dwarfs outnumber us fifty to one, and that does not include the king’s soldiers,” Lindon bellowed at the men and woman in the tent.

In a slightly more sinister tone, he continued. “Nor does that count on whatever the Merrow can throw at us; we have no idea the full extent of what we are up against. But that is going to change tonight. There will be no more argument. Do I make myself clear?” he asked but did not wait for them to answer.

Pointing at the Human generals, he added, “You will work with Arden and Aodhan in the training of the men. Together you will create the heart of this army, and I want them trained to the utmost. Every waking hour will be devoted to some kind of training. I will leave it up to you four to decide the what and how of it.

“Grams, you will take the magic users and teach and train them how to fight. I don't care how, but I want them to work within the army to better them in any and every way. I leave it up to you on the how; I don’t know how magic works but you do. Teach whatever it takes to make them into war wizards, and not just the humans—gather all of the magic users including the Elves and the Dwarfs.”

“No! Eleven magi do not use magic to fight only to nurture,” Piran protested.

Turning on the Elf, Lindon's intensity grew stronger. “THEN YOUR PEOPLE WILL DIE THE SAME AS THE ONES LEFT IN SHU KALA!” Lindon's voice rang with such force that the Elf fell to his knees if front of him.

Bending down, he lifted the Elf's face to look directly into his eyes. “If we do not fight with everything that we have—if we hold back even a little—the Merrow will wipe us out; not just us but every living thing. You must put aside your notions of pride and get into the mud with the rest of us and fight not only for our lives but for our very survival. If we fail, there is no second chance. We will die and the Merrow will have this world for their own.” The last he said not only to the Elf kneeling before him but to everyone in the tent.

The sincerity of the young man coupled with the his intensity led to not a soul in the room that doubted him. As one they each went to their knees. Even Aodhan slipped out of his chair to bow before Lindon.

Lindon was overwhelmed by the display; he looked to his grandmother as she knelt before him. The expression was one of pride; her grandson was claiming his inheritance. He was not just accepting the role of leadership but was actively claiming it—and not because he wanted to lead, because he must.

He had finally answered the question, why him? Because there was no one else that could. He was chosen by prophecy without his consent, and pushed along at every turn, but looking out at the faces before him he made a promise to himself, he would do everything in his power to defeat the evil of the Merrow, even if it cost him his life.

In mind-speak he asked his friends to come to him. When they were beside him, he spoke to the rest. “I leave this task of preparing the army and making it grow in your capable hands. You will work with each other in all aspects. There can be no more pride. We are not different races; we are all one in our effort to survive,” Lindon told them.

“We four must leave, not for our benefit but for the need of us all; we must find allies to help in our struggle, for if we fall then everyone will fall and the Merrow will rule this world alone.”

Lindon did not wait for them to stand but turned to his friends. “Go, get everything ready; we leave at first light.”

His friends looked at Lindon in awe, not only had he stopped all argument but the looks on everyone’s face in the tent was a look of complete devotion to Lindon and his cause, they would no longer doubt if he could lead them. They would follow him anywhere and do all that he would ask of them or die trying.

End of Book 1