The Nemesis Blade (57 page)

“The Valleur
were alone in the universe and how was a ruler to prove a Throne
and a Dragon symbol were the tools to a hereditary succession?
There was no enemy; why, therefore, his obsession with future
generations? Yes, he was a seer, and thus he could explain what he
saw of the future, and he was an enchanter, which meant nobody
would challenge him, but it was not sufficient. He needed to prove
danger, prove why the Throne was imperative, why the Dragon needed
to be passed from Valla to Valla. He needed to have his people
trust his visions.”

Torrullin
paused, and then, “Few know of this, and it came to my attention
only recently. Nemisin, by virtue of his symbiosis, could
manipulate time, a Kallanon talent gifted by Neolone. He did so. He
moved forward and discovered a powerful race, a cultured people who
understood the concept royalty, loyalty, continuity, war and peace
… as did the Valleur. Perfect.

“At the time
of this discovery that race was in conflict, but not against each
other, against the destructive forces of nature - a distinction
Nemisin chose to ignore. He revealed to the Elders frantic
activity, major ship building, supply gathering, units of men
crisscrossing the world to warn people of coming danger, and he
told them they prepared to attack Akhavar.

“He did not
explain another distinction - that it was generations into the
future. He needed an enemy, he found an ‘enemy’, and while it was a
desire to ensure strong leadership, it was wrong. He took an army
of thousands in a pre-emptive strike and left no one alive. After,
Throne, Dragon and Valla were one, and still are. The Dragon
remains part of us.”

Torrullin
waved behind him at the symbol on both Throne and wall. “That act
of selfish terror, while it worked for the Valleur, has
reverberated through the ages.”

“How?”
Tianoman asked.

“A good
question.” Torrullin stepped off the dais to whisper to Sophi
nearby.

She nodded and
left the chamber. Curious eyes followed her. Torrullin returned to
his place.

“Akhavar is
Nemisin’s world, renewed by the efforts of my wife. I would like to
think, had she not done so, none of this would have come to light,
and you would now have a new Vallorin. That is not so. Saska is not
the instrument of redress; I am. Akhavar, first world, Valaris,
last world, and who connects them? I do. Then there is the matter
of the slaughtered race. They were known as the Diluvans of Orb.
Orb is now called Sanctuary, and who connects Sanctuary to this?
Again, I do.”

He paused,
noticing Sophi return. She carried a pitcher of water and a goblet,
which she handed to him.

“Thank you.”
He poured, drank deep, and she retreated to be ready if he desired
more. “Nemisin did not annihilate the Diluvans entirely, for he
arrived after a few left via ship to discover a new world, one
without the vagaries of nature plaguing them. They found it and
called it Luvanor.”

“
What
?”
Yiddin blurted.

“Yes, the
Luvans were once Diluvan. Luvanor is another Valleur world, settled
later, because of the Valla Dragon. We come full circle. Akhavar,
Valaris, Sanctuary and Luvanor, connected, and at the head of that
connection and with the power to affect redress stands one man.” He
smiled. “I can do it, you know.”

A ripple of
laughter.

“It does not
explain the lack of decision on the Throne’s part,” Presario
remarked.

“It made a
decision, Elder. It decided we must right a wrong. Then is the
future secure.”

Vanar spoke
next. “How would it know?”

“Come, Vanar. It was
there
. It knows.”

“Granted,” she
muttered, and then, “Why at this juncture?”

“Juncture is a
good word. So is junction. We do stand at a crossroads …” Torrullin
glanced at Tianoman, whose name, among others, meant ‘crossroad’.
“Why now? The Sagorin would tell you because ‘the time is
now’.”

General
laughter. The Sagorin were known to speak those words often, given
that they erred on the side of fate.

Le Maximillian
Dalrish said, “A great tale, Torrullin, mind boggling. However, it
occurs to me, if the crime, for it was a crime, reverberates to
this day, fixing it will do the same into the future?”

Valleur eyes
swivelled back to Torrullin as they awaited his answer.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. The future would be smoothed
over by this ‘fixing’. One of these young men will be Vallorin
without conditions attached, able to rule without looking over his
shoulder. That is something worthy. On the other hand, a major
tweak of the past could completely change everything. If we save
the Diluvans, where does that leave the Luvans and, subsequently,
the Senlu? Sanctuary would now be out of bounds; Akhavar would
probably die a slow death, along with the Valleur. You could be on
Xen, but Valaris may vanish into obscurity, and no one would be
alive to know the difference. The Valleur would not
be
. Every memory and
every year would dissipate as if it never was.”

Max blanched,
and Valleur lost all complacency.

“This crime
must be redressed at the time it happened, and that is disastrous
to history. Thus, it will be redressed in another realm where it
cannot influence this present or anyone’s future.”

“My Lord?”
Yiddin blurted, more shocked than before.

“Do not be
surprised, Elder; this is not without precedent. Of course, I
cannot measure the length of absence, but I intend to be away for
as brief a period as possible, as long as it takes to find a
solution.”

“How does that
help us?” Sirlasin demanded.

“It will
know,” Torrullin said, gesturing at the Throne. “And once it knows,
we go on.”

“That would
change the parallel,” Tianoman murmured.

“Very
intuitive, Tianoman. The simple answer is - I hope so.”

“Gods,”
someone muttered.

Torrullin
straightened, a pose they knew from experience heralded more
serious news.

“Tristan,
Teroux and Tianoman will accompany me. It is also a journey of
knowing. They return then with full knowledge of what happened and
it will aid the Throne in a final and unassailable choosing of
leader. I am your Vallorin and this is my command. Yiddin and Vanar
will go on as heads of the Elder council as they have for
twenty-five years. Luvanor will be headed by Presario and Volute,
and Akhavar has its fourteen. Aismonn and Mariner, I appoint you as
dual heads. Sanctuary has its system and the Kaval will oversee. I
leave the four connected worlds in good hands. You won’t miss us …”
He grinned at their shock. “... for we won’t be gone long.”

Someone
laughed.

Torrullin
added, “It has been a coronation with a difference, but I am happy
to see many familiar faces, and thank all for coming. The result
was unexpected, but we secure our future and that, friends, is
cause for celebration. Don’t you think?”

“I could use a
drink!” a young man’s voice sang out.

Laughter,
then, and less tension than earlier.

“When are you
leaving, my Lord?” Elder Atkir asked.

“Tomorrow,
hopefully without a hangover,” Torrullin smiled. Then, before he
released them to festivity, “Saska will be with us.” He paused and
found her in the crowd with Caballa beside her. “Caballa, you
also.”

She nodded as
if she knew, which she likely did. Torrullin glanced at Vanar.

“This
farspeaker Rose - she is coming. Have her brought to the Keep
without delay. I want to meet her.”

“Is that
wise?” Vanar whispered.

“That is not
the issue.”

Vanar
bowed.

“Now,
everyone, have a good time!” Torrullin stepped off the dais and
made his way to the side exit.

Yiddin caught
up with him there.

“My Lord? The
Throne?”

“It stays
uncloaked, Yiddin, as a reminder.” He gripped the man’s shoulder.
“Ease their minds, my friend. I am not hunting darak fallen this
time. I know, here,” and he thumped his chest, “this must be done
or we shall not rest easy again.”

Yiddin smiled.
“We trust you.”

“This journey
earns every trust, Yiddin.”

The Elder
bowed and left his Vallorin’s side.

Torrullin
vanished through the side arch, seeking unquestioning silence.

Chapter 42

Sacred; worthy
of reverence or respect; venerable

Profane;
showing contempt or irreverence towards sacred things;
blasphemous

~ Titania
Dictionary

Valaris

M
uch was said, more was discussed,
meeting after meeting.

Offworld heads
of state begged audience, to check status quo meant what it
implied. Kings and queens came to give personal greetings, as was
tradition between royal rulers. Max Dalrish questioned
exhaustively. Forty-two Elders required a word at various, snatched
times.

A word in the
courtyard, an informal meeting in the pavilion tents, private
audience in the study … on and on it went.

Between it
all, Tristan asked questions, Teroux needed to know what to pack,
Tianoman wanted the comfort of proximity, Saska flitted in and out,
sometimes on the periphery, other times smiling and chatting for
him. Vanar and Rose. Rose, an attractive girl with problems; he
could not fathom her and did not have the time to. Caballa took her
under her wing, protecting Rose from the male population, and said
population from Rose.

The great
feast possessed an undertone and he understood it, but it was out
of his hands. All he could do was smile, answer, converse, nibble
and drink, and hope they would look back one day and laud his
foresight. He noted commiserations with the heirs quietly received,
and could not change that either and hoped they would soon
understand.

Then it was
over. The Keep and valley settled for the night, what was left of
it. Caballa, Saska and Rose retired to Caballa’s room, and Tristan,
Teroux and Tianoman disappeared to pack their gear.

Torrullin went
to Elianas, for he could no longer bear staying away.

Sanctuary

It was a few
minutes before dawn on the sanctuary world, and Torrullin found the
cottage deserted.

He found
Elianas on the lip of the cliff overlooking a mist-ridden lake. His
pounding heart stilled to a less erratic rhythm. He sat beside the
man and stared over the water without speaking. Gulls swooped and
commenced the morning call.

“You are
exhausted,” came a murmur.

Torrullin
nodded. “The coronation was taxing. Status quo.”

“I am aware.
It has nothing to do with my wishes, in the event you begin to
wonder. The Throne is autonomous again. Status quo is enabled to
allow time to remain unchanged while we journey beyond
boundaries.”

“I got that,
but I hated lying to the boys. Why are you not resting?” Torrullin
said.

“I have
rested. It is fresh, this air … this freedom. My skin harks to the
sensations. This is new. Everything is new.”

Torrullin was
silent and then he snorted. “Is it, Elianas? New?”

A slow swing
of dark hair. “Some nuances are ancient always.”

Torrullin
watched a cormorant skim the ripples below. “We meet in Grinwallin
this morning. We shall begin soon after.”

“The journey,
or you and me?”

Torrullin met
that dark gaze at last. He inhaled for strength. “Both.”

“Torrullin,
are you ready for what you will find?”

“Is anyone
ever ready?”

“No, but you
must understand it will not be the same after. You will change in
there.”

Torrullin
gazed over the water again. “It is time for that, isn’t it?”

“It is,
yes.”

“Then we deal
with it.” Torrullin rose. “I shall see you in Grinwallin shortly.
Before I go …”

Elianas looked
up.

“I need to
know about the Lumin Sword.”

“While it is a sword of realms, it was not created to release
me. Your sons did not surrender life and therefore the blue and
green blades for this mighty sword to become my freedom. It became
that when
you
named it mine.”

“That is …
good.”

Elianas showed
no emotion. “Why would I hurt you in such a manner?”

A moment of
silence ensued, and then Torrullin said, “Have we not hurt each
other before?”

“We are new
now, brother.”

“Thus we
have.”

“Many times,
but that belongs to the past.”

“How do I
remember
, Elianas?”

Dark eyes
smiled. “We journey together, in this time. We take it moment by
moment.”

“Ah.”

As Torrullin
vanished, Elianas rose and stretched.

Finally
.

Valaris

Morning came
to Valaris, and Torrullin, his grandsons and the three women were
gone by the time the exodus of guests and dignitaries began.

News of status
quo soon spread throughout political halls everywhere.