The Broken Council (The Guardian Chronicles 1) (24 page)

“What
are the giants doing?” asked another captain.
 
He was shaking slightly with fear at the apparent prospect that the
giants would ally themselves with General Yukio.

“You
need not worry about them.
 
I have been
asked by Kana to deal with them personally.
 
I will make sure that they do not interfere in our affairs,” he said
boldly.
 
As he said this, the map
changed.
 
It appeared to show future
events now instead of the present.
 
A
miniature Aellenas was seen wiping out the giants who were near Mount
Quang.
 
Queen Kishi was clearly attacking
the people of Nairi on what looked like the notorious white wolf, Rolon.
  
A massive number of orcs were lining up at
the southern end of the Black Forest.
 
The people of Aran and of Landen were sending messengers back and
forth.
 
Their armies were organizing and
preparing their defenses.
 
The dwarves
were doing the same…except for King Edric in the north.
 
His defenses were light, and his people
seemed to be unconcerned about what was taking place elsewhere.

The
captains sat there speechless as the map continued to morph and change.
 
They were in awe of what they were
seeing.
 
Dükker could sense that their
fears were subsiding and that they were gaining the necessary confidence to do
what would be needed.
 
Then the map
changed once more to show an army of high elves and spiders assembling at the
foot of Mount Konane.
 
After a time, the
orcs on the south end of the forest attacked, and then their army attacked from
the north.
 
Then the map went black, and
the warlock rolled it up slowly and took it in his hands.
 
As he held it firmly in his grip, it
vanished.

“Now,
dear friends, our guardian leader will join us in our battle with the elves
when our army meets the army of orcs,” he said coolly.
 
“Then you will know for sure that you are on
the right side.
 
You all know that the elementals
have only taken the side of good throughout the known history of Tuwa.
 
She has offered to join us in our fight as a
token of her true intent.”
 
He smiled
slightly as he felt the emotions of the captains soar at this news.
 
They would do whatever was necessary now
because they knew that they were on the side of the gods.

“Who
will be in charge of the guard here in Tiranidrol?” asked Commander Harley.

“Captain
Belos, you are now the commander of the home guard of Tiranidrol.
 
You will need to ensure that this city is
protected and that the structures are completed by the time we have finished
with the elves.
 
You will also need to
have the third of the host of Queen Kira return to their home once the
Alanderas is retaken,” Dükker instructed firmly.

“Yes,
my lord.
 
I will not let you or the
people down,” he replied boldly.
 
Belos
was a fierce warrior and great leader.
 
He was not someone to be trifled with, and his troops were very loyal to
him.
 
He would protect the city and the
people better than anyone else.
 
I will prove to Lord Dükker that I am equal
to the task and that his faith in me is well placed.

“I
will set up a series of special protections around the outer wall.
 
I will also create a magical barrier around
the inner wall so that no one aside from those you accompany will be able to
enter.
 
Now, I believe we all need some
rest.
 
I leave tonight to carry out my
errand, so you will need to be prepared to carry out the tasks and duties
assigned to you.
 
Take this time to
inform the guard about our plans and then explain to the citizens what they
will need to do,” finished Dükker.
 
He
stood up and left the table without another word.

“Commander
Harley, what equipment, if any, will you need to take with you?” asked
Commander Belos.

“I
will need a fourth of the archers and a fourth of the swordsmen,” he replied.

“Then
I will leave you to your charges.
 
I will
go and speak with the remainder of the home guard.
 
I will explain what our plans are to the
people in the morning.
 
Three days should
be plenty of time for them to prepare for departure,” Belos thought aloud as he
stood up to leave.

As
the group filed out of the chambers, clouds had darkened the sky as far as the
eye could see to the west.
 
The
temperature had dropped several degrees in the time that they had been in their
meeting, and the wind had picked up slightly as the storm that had been
assailing Mount Quang moved their direction.
 
There was no thunder or lightning in the clouds, so they knew that it
was a typical storm and not the magically created one.
 
The air became thick with moisture as lower
rain clouds approached the city.
 
People
were heading for their homes at the signs of an impending done pour.
 
As the commanders and captains looked over at
Mount Quang, flashes of lightning could still be seen, but the booming thunder
could not be heard any more over the sounds of the approaching gale.

The
guardian rushed to his secluded meditation chamber located on his private
island in the eastern sea.
 
He had always
enjoyed riding the watery currents to his personal escape, but this visit was
much too urgent to take in the beauty around him.
 
He was going to meet with his master about
the current crisis in Tuwa.
 
He had not
met with this all-powerful god for many centuries.
 
As he climbed out of the icy waters onto the
sandy beach, he felt an immense amount of pressure bearing down on his
shoulders.
 
This meeting is pivotal to the fate of the western lands.
 
Hopefully this time things will be different.

As
he walked toward the trees that grew a short distance from the water’s edge, he
dried his body with a warm breeze he conjured.
 
There were a few puffy white clouds overhead that periodically blocked
the bright midday sun.
 
As he entered the
green canopy of the dense forest, the temperature dropped significantly as he
continued his trek to the meeting place.
 
He was the only one who had ever seen the god of this world in person.
 
The transformation that was required of him
in order to speak with his master was not only painful, but it left him drained
of all energy for almost a day after their meeting.

After
hiking through the woods for several hours, he reached a clearing that opened
into a wide meadow.
 
At the far end of a
grassy field were the beginnings of an enormous mountain.
 
It raised high above the ancient forest and
disappeared into the cloudy sky above.
 
At the base, there was a small stream that was fed by an impossibly tall
water fall that started so far up that its birth could not be seen from his
position.
 
As he stood there in the
clearing, he felt his body go suddenly rigid as an unseen force gripped
him.
 
He began the forced transformation
that always occurred right before his master’s arrival.
 
His body shook violently as this invisible
power coursed through him.
 
After a few
more moments of pain, the change was complete.
 
Life around him seemed to stop or cease to exist.
 
Time did not matter anymore.
 
A glowing figure appeared out of nowhere and
approached him from the shadows of the forest.
 
He was actually floating in the air as he approached the translucent
guardian.

“Lord
Adair, it is good to see you again.
 
It
has been entirely too long since we last met.
 
What is it that I can do for you?” asked the shimmering being.
 
His voice had a deep, soothing tone to
it.
 
He was so bright that is was hard to
tell if he was made of flesh and bone or if he was merely a spirit.

“I
have come to seek your guidance and counsel, almighty Kedem,” Adair said with a
bow.
 
His feet were touching the ground
while his master floated above the ground in front of him.
 
He felt the powerful being enter his mind and
probe his thoughts and feelings.
 
He did
not fight this intrusion and allowed Kedem access to everything he knew or
felt.
 
This lasted for only a few
moments, and then Adair was inundated with vital information.
 
Images flashed through his mind in rapid
succession.
 
I must…hold…on.
 
Then his
mind was free from external control, and his body lurched back at the abrupt
end to the forced contact.
 
He ached from
his head down to his feet as a result of the additional drain on his person.

“I
understand what must be done.
 
I will
first meet with Master Mahdi about his role in the war and also about what his
kind must do before the end.
 
I will then
call on the bears and the druids to aid us in the fight.
 
I will instruct Lord Keb that he must protect
the knowledge of the orb at all costs.
 
I
will have Mistress Khalida track Kana’s movements while I garner further
support,” replied Adair weakly.
 
I do not think it is wise to call the druids
to reform their council; they will work against us out of mere spite.
 
They may consider all the elementals to be
enemies since one of our own is attacking the races that the druids have
stewardship over.

“It
is well,” said Kedem as he began to rise steadily into the air.
 
“Do not concern yourself with the druids;
they will fulfill their purpose before the end of these dark days.
 
They will help balance the awesome power of
the elementals so that the peoples of Tuwa will have a fighting chance.”

As
Adair watched his master depart, the island around him began to disappear.
 
He was losing consciousness as his strength
was finally giving out.
 
Kedem slowly
rose into the air higher and higher as he headed toward the clouds that
shrouded the invisible mountain peak.
 
The guardian’s meeting with his master did not last very long, but the
after affects stayed with him for days.
 
He always felt reassured and more driven after speaking with Kedem.
 
Even though he had created the world, Adair
was still not as powerful as his maker.
 
The lord of the elementals had been given the means by which he created
the world, and now he had to protect the inhabitants of Tuwa from
themselves.
 
He would not fail, but it
would not be easy.
 
Then, everything went
dark.

***

Mount
Lamont towered over the northwestern corner of Tuwa as though it was a guardian
of sorts.
 
The mountainsides were covered
with huge trees and thick foliage.
 
There
were massive boulders near the snowline that were just too big to fit in with
their surroundings.
 
The air was cold as
ice even though it was very warm in the valleys and plains below.
 
None of the races made their home on or near
the mysterious heights.
 
Everyone
believed that it was a cursed place and that anyone who traversed its slopes
would never be seen again.
 
They had good
reason to believe that this was the case.
 
Anyone who had set foot on the snowline had never returned.
 
People fled before the shadow of its peak as
it stretched across the lands.
 
It was believed
that even its shadow was deadly to the touch.

The
mountain was actually very beautiful to look at, and that was why so many
travelers had fallen prey to its treacherous slopes over the years.
 
Many dwarves had tried to mine Lamont, but
they were all killed in mysterious landslides or earthquakes.
 
Men had learned very early on to leave the
cursed place alone.
 
As a result of this
wicked reputation, the people of Landen never had to defend the northwestern
entrance to their lands.
 
Rock trolls
would go nowhere near the place because they believed that an ancient evil from
the ancient races lived there.
 
They
believed that it was guarded by powerful magic that could destroy even an elemental.

The
sky over Mount Lamont on this day was clear, and the air was especially
crisp.
 
A bright ball of fire was seen in
the east heading directly toward the mountaintop.
 
It looked like a fiery missile, which was
heading directly at the snow line.
 
An
instant later, the ball of fire hit the ground but did not explode.
 
The people of Landen who saw the projectile
expected a loud boom or at the very least a landslide.
 
The people who had witnessed the collision
merely shrugged their shoulders and went about their business.
 
Weird things always happened around the
cursed mountain, and they accepted that this unexpected event was one of those
instances.

***

Adair
transformed into his human form as he stood near the snow line.
 
He looked around as if searching out
something or someone.
 
After a few minutes,
he began to walk toward the snow and then turned along the line toward the
east.
 
After a long time, he came across
one of the legendary boulders that seemed so out of place.
 
He closed his eyes and began to slowly float
above the ground.
 
He changed into his
ethereal form as he hovered above the section of land he had walked to.
 
He began to glow an eerie green color as his
essence began to swirl.

Master Mahdi, I must speak with you.

Lord Adair, I am here.
 
Please tell me why you are here and what you
desire.
 
The voice was deep and penetrating.
 
It had a ponderous quality to it and could
only be heard in the mind of the guardian.
 
There was a rough edge to the tone as the mysterious creature spoke to
Adair’s mind.

I have need of you and your kind.
 
I have a very special task for you in
particular.
 
Will you hear me out?

Speak. I will do as you command, my
lord.

Thank you, my faithful friend.
 
I wish we had time to just talk, but there is
a war brewing in the land.
 
I need you to
guard the border between Tuwa and the east.
 
Do not stop anyone from crossing the line; merely notify me when someone
does cross it.

I will personally see to it that you
know everything as soon as someone or something crosses the barrier.

I require the rest of your kind to spread
out over the lands of Tuwa so that I can have eyes and ears everywhere.
 
This war will involve all of the races, and
even the guardians cannot avoid becoming involved.
 
One of our own has betrayed us, and only with
your help will we be able to defeat this traitor.

I understand what you have said and what
you have not.
 
I will make sure that we
are vigilant in our watch.
 
Know this: we
will destroy any who defile the earth or any of our kind.
 
Make sure you warn those you choose to
support.
 
We will not tolerate any abuses
even during a time of war.

I will warn our allies.
 
I must go now to attend to other
matters.
 
You can reach me through the
usual way.
 
I will probably not see you
again until these dark times have passed.
 
Good luck to you, my friend.

I will make you proud…Father.

After
Adair had said all that he had to say, he began to rise slowly into the
air.
 
As he rose higher and higher over
the peaks of the mountains, he turned slightly in order to see Mount Lamont.
 
Without warning, he sent a flash of bright
light at the snow-capped portion of the mountain.
 
There was a loud boom and a resulting quake
that had not been felt throughout the land of Tuwa since the beginning.
 
Eventually the guardian stopped his sudden
attack, and the quaking stopped abruptly.
 
The wind began to pick up around the mountain.
 
As the winds swirled, he continued his ascent
until he disappeared into the clear blue sky.

The
wind became increasingly fierce and unrelenting as soon as Adair
disappeared.
 
Foul voices and whisperings
could be heard in the air.
 
There was a
feeling of dread that swept through the lands.
 
As the gusts continued, the source appeared to be coming directly from
the forbidden east lands.
 
Dark clouds
appeared on the horizon and grew larger as they moved closer to the High Plains
of Landen.
 
An unexplainable feeling of
despair and fear developed in the stomachs of the different races of Tuwa on
this day.
 
Nothing would ever be the
same. War was coming.

***

Somewhere
in the snowy regions of the north land Adair stood patiently outside an
eerie-looking cave.
 
He made a series of
weird grunting noises as he peered inside the dark opening.
 
There was an answer to his unusual call,
which was followed by some growls that were immediately followed by something
massive moving his way.
 
He stood back a
few paces to allow whatever it was to come out into the open.
 
A huge white outline could be seen in the
darkness of the icy cave.
 
Just out of
the light, the creature made some more peculiar noises.
 
Adair nodded his head as a sign that he
understood what the beast had said to him.
 
A gigantic white bear stuck its head out of his home to look around the
clearing that the elemental was standing in.
 
It was obvious that he wanted to be cautious.