Ekleipsis (15 page)

“We knew we were too short to escape
quickly, for our small legs do not allow us to stride as far and
fast as you tall ones,” he said with a grin.

“We found a hiding place to
wait for darkness. The Gottlos have taken over at least Palvolin
and have set up an image of this same flying beast, along with a
man who stands before it. We heard them speak of leading the people
of Erde there, to swear allegiance to some Jagare and the beast, or
to be slain. It took us two days to silently escape, by maneuvering
around the large army there.

“It took all our monies, after
escaping Trachten, to purchase these two ponies. We are on our way
to our home in Hozekan to warn our people. To be honest, of what,
we are not sure. For this Ekleipsis still seems quite confusing to
us.”

Something inside Vandor
urged him to trust the male dwarf named Wiltzer; although, he could
not recall ever hearing the term dwarf being used or spoken of
before. Not even his grandfather had made mention of such creatures
in all his stories. Still, Vandor listened intently and noticed
Wiltzer had left out an important detail he wished know, “What
happened to this man who gave you the sword?”

“The man…” A sad look
seemed to show in the dwarf’s eyes, “The man stood his ground. He
spoke to the dark figure, claiming that if he would allow me wife
and me to go free for the present, he would submit to this Jagare
and Rubicund’s control. This Rubicund must be the name of the
flying beast but I am not sure of it, and I am unclear as to who
this Jagare is.

“Permission was granted
with a grin, but most likely the figure was sure we would die there
by the hand of one of the Gottlos. Actually, we have never heard or
seen one of these so-called Gottlos, but that is what people were
yelling, so I assume that is what they are. Ugly creatures indeed:
almost like a man, but more like a beast themselves, and equally
taller than a man than we are shorter.

“Me wife and me ran with
all our might toward an area that seemed the easiest place to hide,
with the least amount of people. I glanced over me shoulder, as I
saw the flying beast lower its head to draw the dark figure closer
to the man. The man stood there unmoving. As the dark figure drew
near, I saw the man pull something from around his back, from under
his shirt, and throw it toward the figure. It looked like a dagger,
which stuck in the figure’s shoulder. The man turned to run, but
the breath of the flying beast engulfed him in flames. The flying
beast and its rider then flew away, as those Gottlos continued to
kill and destroy everything in sight.

“Oh, we also heard the name or word
Ubils, but I don’t believe we saw who or what they were. Have you
ever heard of any of this which I have spoken to you?”

All eyes were on Vandor, to
see what he would do or say. “Was there another man with this man
who gave you the sword,” he said, speaking of Dartego.

“No other man. This man was alone when
we saw him, but Palvolin was full of people running and fighting
these Gottlos, so there could have been another we did not
see.”

Vandor lowered his sword. Wiltzer did
the same. Not that there was complete understanding, but a degree
of honesty was felt between the two. A willingness to accept what
the other had said and to trust, at least momentarily the character
of one another, they decided to dismount and converse for
awhile.

Kayla and Damaris, the
dwarf’s wife, found it most comforting. It appeared there would be
no bloodshed today. Both felt they had recently seen
enough.

Vandor sat amidst the soft
clover, resting his back against a tree with Kayla near him.
Wiltzer sat against a wide stump, with enough room for his wife
Damaris to join him. Both Vandor and Wiltzer sat with their blades
unsheathed at close arms length, a little tense, but both hoping
they would have no need of them. All were quiet for a
moment.

“What were you doing in Trachten?”
questioned Vandor.

“Our people live in
Hozekan, southeast from here. Until most recently, we were
forbidden to venture from Hozekan into the inner regions of Erde.
Our last emperor, Emperor Oviss, who was one of the first of our
kind, forbid any dwarf access to Erde outside of the Valtava
Forest, which surrounds and hides Hozekan. He swore that any dwarf
found past the Valtava Forest would be forever cutoff from the
dwarfs, and if they returned, they would die the death. (Meaning
death by burning, with their ashes spread outside of Hozekan, to be
forever cutoff from their people.)

“He recently died leaving his son, now
Emperor Penuh Harap, to reign in his stead. Although Emperor Oviss
was a wise dwarf, he was most afraid of what lay outside of the
Valtava Forest, within the central parts of Erde. Emperor Penuh
Harap is less fearful than his father, but from what I have seen
most recently, there may be warrant to Emperor Oviss’
fears.

“Since Emperor Penuh Harap has
overridden his father’s law of travel outside of Hozekan, most have
not been brave enough to venture outside of our commune. Me wife
had heard through idle chat that far west from Hozekan there was a
city called Trachten, that held markets twice a year, where all
were allowed to come and sell their items. There are many precious
and beautiful stones in Hozekan, so me wife and me decided to
travel the great distance this time to see if we could sell our
stones. It was also a time to see that which we have never been
allowed to,” Wiltzer explained.

“Why were you not allowed to leave
your city?” Kayla questioned.

“Legend claims, as did
Emperor Oviss attest, along with the council that once lived, that
many moons ago the dwarfs were but a few among many giants – which
I now wonder if he meant merely your kind. Yet now, I further
wonder if we are really different kinds at all; for there seems to
be hardly much diversity but in size.

“They told us of a wicked giant and a
righteous giant, and that the wicked giant had slain the righteous
giant. We were told that the wicked giant had power over many evil
creatures and spirits that roamed freely in Erde, because the
righteous giant no longer lived to battle them. Which I now assume
must be these Gottlos and Ubils I heard the people speak
of.

“They insisted that Emperor
Oviss had gathered all of the dwarfs that he could find, and
traveled secretly through the Valtava Forest into what is now known
as Hozekan. He immediately passed the law that none were to venture
past the Valtava Forest into the nether parts of Erde. The lands
outside of Hozekan were seen as an evil place of wickedness. For
fear that it would lead outsiders to override us in Hozekan if we
were found out, it was simply determined as forbidden to
leave.

“When Emperor Penuh Harap
took leadership, he sent spies into Erde, who reported back to him.
Upon testimony of the spies, the council claimed that Erde was not
as bad as his father had claimed. Not doubting his father, Penuh
Harap assumed the wickedness that Oviss had spoken of had now past,
but it appears that it has not.

“Further teaching also told
of the righteous king one day returning to cleanse the Land of Erde
of all wickedness, and all those who oppose good. Although no
righteous king had been found by any of the spies, Emperor Penuh
Harap assumed this king may have yet returned and was the reason
for the spies not seeing the total wickedness his father had spoken
of in Erde.”

“Pardon me for asking, but
why then did you call us thieves, and what interest do you have in
this here sword and the man which gave it to me?”

Vandor found what Wiltzer
said most interesting, as it was so similar to what had actually
taken place in Erde, but from a perspective of people who were
hidden from the actual events while they took place. Vandor began
to expound, “My name is Vandor and this is Kayla. The sword which
you bear is my grandfather’s most prized work. His name is MaZak,
and the name of that sword he called Reflection. We were on our way
to Trachten to meet him, when I saw the glimmer of his blade that
you carry.”

“We are sorry to be the bearer of your
loss, but we are most grateful for him saving our lives,” Damaris
softly added.

Vandor continued to push
the idea of the death of his grandfather further from his mind. By
all accounts, this perished soul could have been Dartego, which
would hurt almost as much as if it were his grandfather. But even
yet, it could have been another person who his grandfather had only
lent his sword to in the battle. “I believe your story is very
similar to the truth of what has actually happened here in
Erde.”

Vandor could see the
dwarf’s face wrinkle as if to say,
You are
calling Emperor Oviss a liar?
, so he
quickly added, “I mean no disrespect, but my grandfather has lived
quite some time through the struggles of the Land of Erde, and
there are many who bear record of the same accounts. I am by no
means saying that your Emperor Oviss’ stories are made up, but they
appear to be more legend and parable based on the truth of how he
saw or heard it.”

Vandor saw a relaxed look
from Wiltzer, so he continued. Vandor told of King Salvare, of his
Book of Wisdom, and how he loved and helped the people of Erde. He
ensured Wiltzer that this must be the righteous king that his
emperor had spoken of. And this righteous king had established a
voluntary group called the Sealed to follow his lead, proclaim his
truth, and serve in the Land of Erde with a godly standard of
honesty and love for things that were right.

He then told the two dwarfs
of Judarius. How he had betrayed King Salvare, and had slain him.
Vandor shared that even though Judarius was never a true king, this
must have been the wicked king the dwarf emperor had proclaimed. He
explained how Judarius and his seed, the wicked Galtare, along with
Jagare who followed, had warriors: the Gottlos, evil creatures
which some claimed used to be men; and the Ubils, evil spirits
which were able to persecute men unseen.

Vandor went on the explain
that Judarius had moved the Land of Erde into dark times, but at
his death his son Galtare had pushed Erde into the Dark Ages trying
to remove all remembrance of King Salvare, his Book of Wisdom, and
all that was good. He further spoke of the failing years of
Galtare, whereby the Sealed were reborn and Kirche was established
in Signum, for the purpose of bringing the light back to the Land
of Erde.

Vandor told of the death of
Galtare and the rise of his son Jagare, who desired to tear down
what the Sealed had built in Signum, while his father Galtare lay
sick or mentally disabled. He entailed that an unknown person had
struck a deadly blow to Jagare’s head with an arrow, which had
given the occasion of somewhat rest in Erde. He assumed the dwarfs
must have missed the Great Awakening while they hid in
Hozekan.

Vandor gave regard to the
telling of the pale Piradad, who had ridden a dragon name Rubicund
into Oscuridad, the kingdom of Darkness past the Shadow Lands on
the edge of Erde. Rubicund, which most had never seen but only
heard of, from the land down under called Kriminala Pasaule,
apparently had the power to revive Jagare from his deadly wound,
but Jagare had yet to be seen or heard from. He explained how he
believed this to be the flying beast which Wiltzer spoke of seeing
in Trachten.

Most importantly, Vandor
spoke of the power of King Salvare’s father, King Allmachtig, who
dwelt in the far kingdom of Himmel, and how this mighty king had
the power to raise his martyred son from the grave. He told of how
King Salvare had left to go to his father’s kingdom, but promised
to return with an army to defeat all that was wicked in the Land of
Erde. King Salvare also promised a kingdom of rest called Scimerian
to the faithful.

Vandor continued his story
to Wiltzer and Damaris, up until the present dismay of things. He
told of the mark which he had seen upon the Gottlos, on Labo, and
the dagger which Labo had used. Though he refrained from speaking
of Kayla’s father, who they feared also had one such dagger and
could possibility bear the mark of the Wicked One. He explained how
it all made sense – the mark, the attack in Trachten, the graven
image, and the army of Gottlos and Ubils which Wiltzer had claimed
to see.

Vandor explained that all
the signs pointed to what Judarius had claimed as the Ekleipsis.
This would be the day in which all good would be taken from the
Land of Erde, as the Darkness would rule, slaying all who opposed
it. Yet he was confident in King Salvare and his Book of Wisdom,
whereby it was written that he indeed would return and save his
people from the Wicked One.

When Vandor was finished,
the dwarfs sat silently as if soaking in all of that which he
spoke. He had tried to share that which the Book of Wisdom and his
grandfather had often spoke of, placing it into the context with
what he believed concerning the recent events he had experienced,
added with those Wiltzer had mentioned. He feared the worst, but
refused to give doubt the advantage over his belief that indeed
King Salvare would return before Jagare would be able to destroy
all that was good in Erde.

“You have persuaded me to
believe that which you say. Knowing that which Emperor Oviss spoke,
and trusting what you have told us here to be true, indeed the
stories tell of the same evil that seems to be once again taking
hold of the Land of Erde. I only fear that now since we have the
freedom to venture from the Hozekan, we may no longer be safe from
it,” Wiltzer acknowledged. “How can I know more of this King
Salvare and his book?”