Rohvim #1: Metal and Flesh (20 page)

The man stopped and looked at Aeden. He nodded slowly, “Yes, about an hour ago he was in here, but I haven’t seen him since. He was with Clara and several of the Elder Council, and they may have gone to discuss matters privately. I don’t see them in the assembly hall,” he crooned his neck around, “so maybe in one of the healing rooms.” He gestured to the ring of rooms lining the hall on both the first and the second floors.

“Very well. I guess I’ll have to wait for him,” he extended his hand, “my name is Aeden.”

The man grasped it, replying, “You’re the son of the sixth duke of Elbeth.”

Aeden’s eyes widened and he asked excitedly, “You know my family? You’re from Elbeth?”

The man shook his head. “No, I am from here, though I frequently travel to Elbeth to heal and associate with society members there. I met your father a few times. How is he these days?”

“He’s dead. Killed in the invasion.”

The man hung his head low and murmured quietly, “Creator guide us in these terrible days.” He looked up again, “My name is Harold. I’ve been a society member here for about thirty years. I was a farmer before I was visited by Ulfric, an Elder Council member who invited me to join. And how long have you been in the society, my friend? I had never heard of any of the nobility in Elbeth being invited.”

“The master healer invited me just before the invasion. I actually wanted to see him before the council to accept his offer.”

Harold smiled. “Ah. He will be delighted, I’m sure. Well, I sure hope there is room in that assembly hall as I expect … ah! There he is, just as I thought, he was meeting privately with Clara and a few others. There they are emerging from that room.”

He pointed behind Aeden, who extended his hand again to the man. “Thank you Harold, for your kind help. I hope to meet your acquaintance again.” And he bowed slightly before hurriedly walking over to the small group of senior society members.

The master healer saw him coming and gestured towards him as he approached. He addressed the others. “Here is one of those I was talking about. Aeden! Come over here!”

Aeden presented himself before the group, and bowed, saying “Aeden Rossam, at your service your graces.” The master healer smiled and embraced the boy, and presented him to the others.

Clara beamed at him and said, “I met the young man last night in the grove. A true rohva, and of royal blood no less, I thought to myself. Welcome Aeden Rossam!” And she shook his hand vigorously. Her grip was surprisingly strong, as she appeared to be at least 150 years old. He was again in awe of her physical presence. Tall, graceful and beautiful, with both power and confidence at her command.

“Master,” Aeden started, “I need to talk with you in private for a minute. Do you have the time?” The old man nodded and motioned to the room they had just come out of. “Excuse me, your graces.” Aeden nodded his head to the others and followed the old man into the room, who shut the door behind him.

“What is it Aeden?”

“Well, master, I realized I never accepted your invitation into the society. I just wanted to do so now.”

The man smiled “Oh, I already knew you accepted, you didn’t need to tell me that. Anything else? I hate to be rude but there are several more people I must find before the council starts.”

Aeden demurred, “No, I suppose that was all. Tell me, master, what is become of Elbeth? Did you by any chance see Priam before you left?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. You may be pleased to know that he accompanied me here this morning. He is in the town right now getting provisions, and no doubt looking for you.”

Aeden perked up at this, and said with relief in his voice, “Now that is the best news I’ve had all week. I won’t keep you further, master.” The old man opened the door and marched out in a hurry, looking left and right as if searching for someone. Aeden also bolted out, anxious to find his best friend.

Chapter Twelve

“…and the companions of Ilien were men fair and strong, and they did set forth to contend with the darkness. Men of high birth, with stone faces, opposed them and hedged up their way, but Ilien was resolute, knowing the prophecies and believing the foretold victory…” –The Adventures of Ilien, 3:35

Aeden ran across the hall and opened the front door, and as he descended the steps into the street, he bowled over a body with a familiar face.

“Aeden?” Priam cried in disbelief.

 “Priam!” Aeden grabbed his friend and embraced him tightly. “What took you so long?”

“Well, I did have an army to fight my way through.”

“You always did take your time fighting your way through armies. Just hang around me more and we’ll fix that.” The boys grinned at each other, with Priam’s smile fading away into a look of concern.

“Aeden. Your sister. And Father. I’m so sorry. I’ve been crying nonstop since that day ….” He looked down.

Aeden stared at him, “Yes, mother is having a particularly hard time of it. I will have our revenge, though.” He said matter-of-factly. “Tell me. What of your family?”

“They’re fine. Before the army arrived, they fled to the capital and begged me to go with them, but I saw that your family and the rest of the nobility was staying to fight, and so I just couldn’t help myself …” He grinned, but turned serious as he continued, “… the drone army seemed particularly interested in killing off the nobles and their families. I only escaped by covering myself in horse poo and acting like a beggar.”

Aeden cocked his head at his friend, “I see the invasion hasn’t changed you much.” Priam punched Aeden in the chest. Aeden continued, “So did the master healer find out anything?”

“He got in some of their heads and found they were all being controlled by someone he did not recognize. He’ll explain more at the council, I suppose.”

Aeden replied, “We should get in there and find front row seats.” Priam agreed, and they re-entered the hall, presenting themselves to the doorkeeper as before. They made their way across the hall and entered the double doors to the assembly room which they saw was filled with wooden benches, all painted white. They found seats near the front, though the room was beginning to fill up, the crowd numbering at least thirty by the time they sat. Aeden and Priam talked in low voices for about half an hour as the room filled up more, and by the time the master healer and Clara entered, the room was filled to capacity with at least one hundred people assembled. The two aged leaders took their places in chairs on the slightly raised dais in the front, along with eleven other men and women, mostly of advanced age. Clara stood up and walked to the center of the dais. The room fell into a solemn hush.

“In the beginning, I was as any normal woman. I did not know my true nature and I roamed aimless, directionless, lacking any purpose or goal. I was born to an astrologer and his wife, a seer. They made their money off the hopeless and stupid, but were learned in matters of legend and lore. They taught me prophesies of a wondrous future, and of a glorious past, and when men and women had great powers—of healing, of frightening destruction, of people that could transform themselves into mythical dragons, or common dogs. Having tasted of this fruit of secret knowledge, I set out, intent on unlocking the secrets of our heritage. I passed through terrible trials—wandered distant lands, searched through vast ruins, became nearly entombed leagues beneath the earth, and at last the truth grasped hold of me and I was delivered from my ignorance. My true nature was laid bare before me and I saw clearly my destiny. Our destiny. I returned to our land, met the master healer who had also discovered himself, and in time we created this society, passing on the knowledge we have learned so that eventually all of humanity may one day meet itself and know itself.

And now, that future is put into jeopardy. Trying times are upon us. The prophecies in the Chronicles speak of great calamities and terrible trials that shall come, and I believe we are in the midst of them now. Great evil has spread across our fields, across our pastures, through our streets, has usurped our homes, and even taken our lives. I am grieved to report that the losses from Elbeth and the other towns surrounding it are … extensive. Many of the nobility have been summarily slaughtered, and any who resisted are dead. In addition to the dead, there is report of mass disappearances. People awake to find that their neighbors have suddenly vanished in the night. The prison is empty, as are several of the … less desirable districts of the city. The master healer has arrived from the city of Elbeth just this morning and has a more thorough report for you all. Master healer.” The elegant lady stepped aside, and the master healer arose to address the assembled.

“Greetings to you all. I will not mince words with you, as time is a commodity that we currently lack. The army that sacked Elbeth and the surrounding cities is an army that is under the control of … one of us.” He turned to Clara at his side and they looked grimly at one another. A collective gasp went up in the room, and dozens of conversations erupted between neighbors amidst a wave of chatter.

“Please! Let me continue. Thank you. I do not necessarily mean one of us here in this room, but the master of that army is most undoubtedly a warlord with a true knowledge of himself. He is also remarkably powerful. I managed to enter the minds of several dozen soldiers, and I saw that they were all being controlled by one man, who I do not recognize. The few that I managed to release from mental bondage told me that they were from the northern kingdoms, and cannot remember much of the past few months. All who I liberated report that over the past several years, they suddenly lost control of their bodies to some witchcraft, and watched as they gathered themselves into an army that then marched south this past month. They appear to have some memory of their bondage, but not much. They had nearly nothing in common. I saw men, women, old, young. Most of them, from what I could tell, had been criminals—mostly petty crimes. I know not if this is important, but I tell you what I know.”

 “Did the army have a leader?” asked a woman in the front row.

“As I said, I did not recognize the man I saw in their minds. However, the army itself seemed to be led by a captain that I also did not recognize. I do not know if he is a drone, but he gave a speech in the city center soon after the invasion. He announced the rule of his Lord Shiavo, and claimed that he was ushering in a new era of peace, prosperity, freedom from sickness and want, and an end to the rule of royalty. In the freed soldiers’ heads, I could see that they clearly came from the north, and I saw vague images of a compound or an estate in the country where the drone army was assembled over a few years time. I believe this compound is where Lord Shiavo may be right now, and that he is probably the one responsible for the assemblage of this army. How he learned his nature and his rohva powers, well, that is a mystery. I have asked all who have ever recruited for the society if they remember this man, and none can. It may be that he discovered his true nature himself such as Clara and I did, but for him to do that and subsequently learn on his own all that he needed to know to accomplish this monstrous task is … formidable.” The healer paused. Hushed silence wrapped the hall. He continued, “I call on our representative of the king’s court, healer Jona, to address us now.” He returned to his seat, and another man seated near Clara arose, stepped to the front of the dais, and spoke.

“Greetings to all. The king was made aware of the invasion about two days after Elbeth fell. This came as a complete surprise to him, as none of the kingdom’s scouts in the north had ever reported the massing of an army, much less one of this size. We are currently at peace with all the northern kingdoms, and have been for over two hundred years. There has not been even a whisper from our diplomats that there was any trouble brewing in the north. The king and his council therefore believe that this is a mercenary army assembled in secret, though how or why they know not. Since we are in a time of peace, we have no standing army ourselves, and the royal guard is insufficient to retake Elbeth and the surrounding towns.

The king has therefore decided to deploy the guard to the next largest city on the way from Elbeth to the capital, in order to stop any further advance of this army. In the meantime he will be raising a liberation army to retake the towns, though that is at least six months off.”

A murmur of dismay went up from the crowd, especially from the refugees of Elbeth and the towns surrounding her. “The king, however, knows a bit about the society.” The hush returned to the hall. “He has not been made aware of the society’s true nature, nor of his, but he knows that we are more than just a group of healers. He believes we practice witchcraft or magic of some variety, and that we have powers and capabilities beyond that of regular men and women. In his mind, he sees this as heretical, but also sees the value in having his people provided with the healing and hope we give, so he permits us to continue our work, even requesting that the society send a representative to speak for it in matters of the kingdom, hence my presence in the capital. He puts pressure on the priests to not speak out against us, so long as we publicly maintain a face of faith in our religion. What we do and believe in private does not concern him.