The Cor Chronicles: Volume 02 - Fire and Steel (8 page)

They had ridden the dirt road for three days, and Cor’s blood felt as though it may boil at any moment. Every time they rounded a bend or crested a small hill, he was sure that he would see whatever pulled at him. They passed few people now, just farmers transporting late harvests or supplies on wagons one direction or the other. It was when they passed a solitary figure on foot that Cor pulled Kelli to a sudden halt. Thyss continued a good dozen paces before she realized he had stopped, and she turned her horse to face him.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I don’t…”

Cor turned his horse to face the direction they had come, and he saw the lone figure, a man, standing in the road. He had also turned in his tracks and stood staring at the mounted pair. Cor could see little about him, as he wore a heavy wool cloak used by many travelers during colder weather, and the cloak had a hood that hid his features well. The man was not large, but Cor was sure he was built solidly. He stood like a fighting man, and Cor thought he saw a glint of bluish steel underneath the robe.

“I have come far, Dahken Cor, much further than you,” came a distant but familiar voice from beneath the hood.

“Who are you stranger, that we seek each other?” Cor asked, slowly walking his horse toward the man. He drew Soulmourn; he was not sure why, but something about this man unnerved him.

“I am not sure of my name, but I am sure that we are no strangers, Dahken Cor, and certainly we are not enemies.”

The man reached his hands to his hood and pushed it back over his head. He then pulled the robe’s ties at the neck, allowing it to fall to the ground, revealing an armored countenance. He was middle aged with shoulder length hair that appeared to have recently gone gray. He was unshaven, but very little growth was on his face, and his eyes were gray, cold and hard. He wore full plate armor that oddly reflected the sunlight blue, and strapped to his back were a large shield and longsword. The man’s face and hands were as gray as the dead, as gray as Cor’s.

“This cannot be,” Cor whispered. He dropped from his horse and sheathed Soulmourn. “You were killed. I saw it. I carried you back to Sanctum and entombed you below.”

“Yes, I did die, and I became one with Dahk. Adrift in a sea of blood, I knew nothing, but He has caused me to return to this world,” the man paused for a moment, studying Cor’s open mouthed, bewildered look. He then asked in an almost childlike fashion, “Who am I?”

“You are the man who saved my life. You are Lord Dahken Rael, my teacher, my friend.”

“Yes,” the man whispered, memories flooding into his eyes. “That was once my name, but I think now I am only Dahken Rael. You… you are Lord Dahken Cor.”

5.

The ride back to Byrverus was full of explanations and stories. Cor of course introduced Thyss and told Rael everything that had happened to him after the battle on the road that connected Sanctum and the port town of Hager. He included as much detail as he could remember, from the vision Soulmourn had shown him, to the dreams involving Lord Dahken Noth, to his journey into Losz and so on. Rael listened and responded rarely, his face stoic and impassive throughout the entire narrative, and he had little comment, even regarding Thyss. Cor explained that he had found his parents murderer, at least, the lord whom was responsible, and that Taraq’nok collected Dahken for some master plan to take over the whole of the Loszian Empire and the Shining West. Cor took his revenge and somehow managed to get the Dahken back into Aquis, most of them at least. After several hours of storytelling, he finally explained his latest meeting with the queen and his ideas for the future.

“I do not understand your plans though,” Rael said. “I understand building a new home for us and rebuilding the Dahken, but why the alliance with Aquis and The Shining West? Why are you so determined to destroy the Loszian Empire?”

“Their empire is an affront to freedom, to free will,” Cor answered. “I will not allow it to exist any longer than it must.”

“Is the West any different?” Rael asked. “They change history and control their populace through their religion.”

“But at heart, they’re good people Rael.”

“I still do not understand, but then it is not my place to understand,” Rael conceded. “You are Lord Dahken now.”

“How about this for a reason, then. Most of the Loszians kill Dahken on sight, even as soon as they’re born.”

“I suppose that is reason enough.”

At Cor’s prodding, Rael explained his reliving as well as he understood it. He remembered being one with Dahk, part of a great sea of blood that went as far as one could see. He was suddenly expelled from that sea and returned to life. He could barely recall, as if from a dream, a voice telling him he was not yet meant to die, that he still had purpose. He remembered nothing else clearly; memories of a life that once was flashed through his mind unbidden and in a confusing jumble. However, when Cor spoke his name, they returned all at once, clear and ordered.

Rael awoke in the crypt that Cor had made for him, and he remembered collecting a number of items that were entombed with him - a sword, shield and armor mostly. The door opened easily enough, but his exit was half blocked by rock and earth. It was the work of several hours for Rael to move enough detritus out of the way to climb out of the crypt and stand amongst the caved in remains of Sanctum. Through some amazing bit of luck, or perhaps some form of divine providence, several of the crypts including his had been spared by the destruction, but most had been flattened or buried, their history and treasures lost.

Climbing out of the huge crater had been work worthy of a titan. Nearly every bit of ground Rael climbed created a landslide, several of which threatened to take him. It took two slow and arduous days to reach the mouth of pit, and his muscles ached from the constant, painstaking exertion. Many of his fingernails were cracked, torn off and bleeding from his efforts to hold onto the smallest amount of purchase. From there, he simply walked east, eventually picking up a road and followed it until he found Cor. He had no recollection of where he had gotten the cloak or what he had eaten over the days or weeks since his reawakening.

“If not to lead the Dahken, why has Dahk restored you?” Cor asked him.

“I was never a leader Cor. Of course, there’s never been many Dahken to lead, and I claimed the title of Lord Dahken only to make certain the line went unbroken,” Rael explained. “You however. You led a group of children through a heavily fortified border and seem to have gained their trust and loyalty. I can see no better Lord Dahken.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Cor insisted.

“I believe I am here to train the Dahken.”

“Then tonight I will pray to Dahk and thank him,” Thyss interjected, “I was not enjoying the prospect of standing around for twenty years while Cor raised his Dahken brood. I may just have thrown myself from the castle ramparts.”

“Really? I’d have thought you would just run off with someone more interesting,” Cor retorted. Thyss’ eyes flashed angrily for a moment, but then cooled leaving only an enigmatic smile on her face.

“I don’t think you appreciate what had to occur for Dahken Rael to return to Rumedia,” she said. “I have had some dealings with my own gods, and they do not interfere with the mortal world lightly or easily. To outright resurrect one who is dead would have required an extreme expenditure of power on Dahk’s part.”

“He’s a god.”

“Such a Western thought that the gods are all powerful. Dahken Cor, they are not, and it is likely that Dahk will not intrude into our world again for years for his trouble. Think on that,” she replied.

“What happened Rael? How did Jonn kill you?” Cor asked. After a short silent moment in which it became clear that Rael was not going to answer, Cor continued. “When he knew I was going to kill him, he used the same magic, and I walked right through it. Everything I read about Dahken said we were immune to such power.”

Rael sighed. “I am honestly unsure. To say Dahken are immune may be a slight exaggeration, but mostly accurate. I had only once before faced Garod’s power, and in that instance I prevailed. I am afraid my death was necessary at the time for you to truly become Dahken Cor.”

“Sounds like talk of destiny,” Cor said, and he spat to one side. “I will no longer accept that the death of people I love is necessary or unavoidable. Not anymore.”

“How grand,” Thyss said, and her words were weighted with the greatest sarcasm. Cor ignored them.

When they returned to the palace in Byrverus, Cor and Thyss received a hearty welcome from the Dahken. One boy wrapped himself around Thyss’ left leg, and she shot Cor a pleading, pained look at which Cor laughed quietly. Thyss did not seem to know what to do with children; clearly a mothering instinct was not innate to all women. The younger children received Rael warily, and the older boys clasped arms with him as men might. Rael was only the second adult Dahken any of them had ever seen, and Cor hoped that the knowledge that they were not aberrations would help bind them together.

Cor awaited Queen Erella’s summons impatiently, pacing to the far corners of the chambers he shared with Thyss, and he walked the palace halls, no doubt under the watchful eye of the queen’s guards, just to keep himself busy. He had no desire to wait around any longer. Thyss also seemed anxious and impatient like a caged tiger looking for any opportunity to escape. She learned quickly to avoid Rael, as he seemed disinclined to engage her in conversation. It was a response she was not used to, and she did not like it.

Rael, for his part, began to train the Dahken within hours of arriving at Byrverus. He divided the children into two groups based on age. At times, he would bring the groups together and lecture them on the history of the world and the Dahken. When their attention wavered, he would separate them again. The older children, including the four teenagers, began combat training in one of the palace courtyards. The guards would not provide Rael with real weapons, but instead made available padded wooden practice swords. Rael grimaced at these, but accepted them as the best that could be done for now. During the training periods, he would allow the younger children to watch or simply play as children might. Cor observed and noticed that death and rebirth had not changed the man one bit; he was always precise and to the point.

It was nearly a month before the queen again summoned Cor to her chambers, and Cor sighed with relief when the summons came. This time, he did not go alone, choosing to bring Thyss and Rael with him; the two would play important parts in his future, and from here on he would include them both in all of his decisions. They entered her chambers, finding Queen Erella looking tired and seated at her desk, stacks of administrative work strewn about. Rael and Thyss stayed slightly behind Cor on either side of him, and behind the queen stood Thom. Cor smiled slightly, nodding his head to the older man who had very recently saved his life and those of the other Dahken.

It was then Cor realized that Queen Erella stared at Rael, her gaze like a surgeon’s knife. She seemed to look deep inside the man, directly into every fiber of his being. Cor found it most unnerving, but Rael merely stood and allowed the queen her long examination. Eventually her gaze softened, though it lingered on the older Dahken’s face for several long moments.

“Dahken Cor, I was told that you had brought another with you, a Dahken named Rael who now trains your people,” she said.

“Majesty, this is my friend Dahken Rael,” Cor said, turning his head to indicate the man. “He seems to have returned to help me.”

“Indeed,” the queen said quietly. “Dahken Cor, I’m not sure what your friend is, but I don’t think he is a Dahken. I see him, but it is as if he is not there.”

Cor turned and clasped his friend’s shoulder. “I assure you Majesty that he is real enough.”

“Very well,” she very nearly whispered. She paused before speaking again, this time with more strength. “Everything is prepared Dahken Cor. Your jeweler in Worh was holding a note worth a mighty ransom. I have taken possession of the note to finance the building of a castle at Fort Haldon, and I have already dispatched architects to the site.

“Your land grant is marked accordingly,” she said, pointing to the map, “It is approximately twenty five hundred acres the eastern border of which is the Spine. Lord Paton is your immediate neighbor, and he was not overly excited about giving up the land. I paid him with the knowledge that he would no longer be the first line of defense should war with Losz occur.

“Commander Thom has agreed to stay at Fort Haldon permanently as garrison commander. The two of you seem to be on fair terms, so the choice was simple for me. He will relocate his family, as will most of his men. The garrison and the castle will be maintained by Aquis as it always has been, but you will need some income to support your Dahken.”

“Majesty, I still have a fair amount of gold and some gems,” Cor said.

“That may do for the short term, but you must have citizens to tax,” she replied. “I have offered land to commoners and farmers who desire opportunity within your grant. I will assign an administrator from my exchequer’s office to you for the purpose of establishing an equitable tax system. I hope you are prepared for the mundane life of a lord, Dahken Cor.”

“I hadn’t considered it honestly,” Cor said. Near as he could tell, the Dahken in the past survived on accumulated wealth of centuries, likely from their many adventures. But now that wealth was gone, and he would need a way to support his people, for a number of years at least. The fact did not dawn on him until just then.

“Before I allow you to leave, I must be clear about one thing. I have no reason to trust you, the Dahken, as your history by the way I remember it is an unsavory one. I am still not certain whether you are good or evil, or whether or not your desires are best for Aquis and Garod. However, I am certain that you are not a liar, and you have given me an oath to serve me. Make no mistake, I am ruler of Aquis, and I answer to no one but Garod. You will obey my will as quickly as one of my palace guards. If that is clear, you may take your leave of me now.