Bertan`s quest - Michelle Tarynne (best beach reads of all time txt) 📗

quickly. Deep frown seemed to never leave his face when he attended his meetings with the King. The room was small, almost too small, and suffocating, but it was the room the King favored ever since a breach in the Throne Room was discovered.
"Is it in four places, up in the north?" The King checked once again. “This can mean one thing only and I don’t like that option. Most of our own war preparations are between ‘just somewhere halfway done,’ and ‘still in the planning stage.’ We have been preparing tirelessly for the last generations, but still, it feels like we’re taken by a surprise yet again.”
"Yes, my King. We have sent out some of the stealth troops to check out the remaining territories, they should be back at the end of the next cycle," the Councilor repeated the answer for the fifth time, by his count. He did not like the way the King seemed to slip from his awareness into a window-gazing standstill.
"The time of war has come. I hoped, I wouldn’t live to see it." The Red Axe King said heavily when the prolonged stillness and silence let go of him.
"We have been preparing for war all our life, my King. Surely, you've always known it was going to be you to lead us into our Fates." The Councilor tried to bring back the reason into the royal mind and at least ease the doubts and ease the depression emanating from the King in dark waves.
"I still hoped. No matter how much we prepare, we stand no chance against fully grown Sword." The Royal breathed heavily, looking through the window again. "It will always take at least ten men to take one of them down when it comes to direct confrontation. I mean if we are that lucky," Red Axe sighed again, "It pains me greatly that no Sword have been seen or heard of since they were forced to abandon the Mines. We hold no knowledge of them since then, only some tales that could be delusional stories fed with fear of our enslaved ancestors. It worries me a lot."
"We have grown into millions upon millions since those stories had originated. We may still hold the key to winning." Councilor brought up one of Axe strengths they had been counting on.
"How many of those millions joined our troops Councilor? We cannot let yhe Swords get close enough for them to breach the Wall." The royal seemed getting annoyed at that point, disliking being placated in his worries like a little child. "Once they get to the Wall they will breach it… and then only Fates can save us," he added much more quietly, recalling the way the Fates had once intervened in their favor. It was the only real reason they could have that conversation.
"What are we to do now my King? What is your command?" the Councilor straightened his posture and waited for the answer, he already knew.
"Prepare the fire wells. There is not much else we can do now." The king had decided.
"My King, you are right. The Swords won't come here prepared for the fire to meet them first. Can suggest one more thing, my Lord?" he asked politely.
"Yes, of course, Councilor," the King was surprised by this request but agreed anyway, already distracted with something else on his table.
"Under the circumstances, before we fire up the wells… I think it's the time to call every Axe that resides within the Wall to look for safety of the Inner Block." The Councilor said quickly to hide his nervousness.
"We can't do that now, not when there is the slightest chance we might… We can't allow the only possible outcome of that action to come true," the King strongly opposed.
"They would erase everything and everyone inside then," the Councilor agreed.
"They would do not only that," the Royal thought deeply, "All of the people should hide somewhere until all is done and gone. They could travel far enough to go even farther afterward… though still, no one knows exactly who and what lies at the Line of Unknown now."
"Should I send out the messengers then? You do realize, my King, that not everyone will get warned in time, and still some tribes would want to take a safe refuge within the Wall." The Councilor felt it was safe to express his worries.
"That is their own choice then. The Southern route would be much safer than taking a refuge here."
"We don’t know that for sure until the time comes, my King. There is always a spark of hope for the Fates to spare us. One is sure, we won't surrender. It's better to be dead than to become the Sword's slaves again." "Shouldn't we at least move some troops to defend other parts of the Wall?" The Councilor proposed quietly.
"We cannot change anything. It has to look like we are unaware of their approach."
A young boy dashed into the room to deliver a small and neatly folded message into the Councilor hands, and he disappeared just as suddenly.
"The Seekinglanders have just arrived my Lord." The Councilor wasn't able to hide a tremble of his voice.
"Vlad must have warned them. Damn that man and his Oracles," Red Axe frowned when he realized Vlad might have been right, after all. "Guard them closely. They are not to granted permission to enter the Inner Block. They are not allowed to enter the Mines, Councilor."
"I understand your reluctance, my King, but isn't it what should be done to keep the civilians safe? Shouldn't we send them down to wait the storm out down below?" He tried once again to plead his case one more time.
"You and I, we both know what would happen when Swords breach the Wall. We know what will happen the moment they reclaim the Inner Block. Let us all die as free men on the surface. When Seekinglanders enter the Mine, the rest including the soldiers, will want to follow. Fearlessness is the luxury of peaceful times. I want my soldiers to be the fiercest when darkest fear strikes down. I want them to fight for their lives, for their families. The desperation is the only way we can face our former Masters. The Seekinglander tribe should be outside the Wall, seeking their lands, not coming back here again." The King couldn't hide his irritation with that annoying tribe. The knowledge of their origins had become obscured with time, but the Axe Kings had always deeply treasured the truth. "Be sure that the Seekinglanders are contained, Councilor."
"Of course, my King." The Councilor bowed and turned to leave the small room that guarded their meeting.
"Be sure to personally bring me the latest report on the fire-wells preparations," the King said almost unaware of doing so, already deep in thoughts of the fire-wells strategies.
In fact, their greatest defense weapon has never been tried to its true and full force. In theory and during small tests, it worked perfectly. It was a system of many wells placed within the soil-crust, anchored right to the thin layer of natural gasses and poisonous fumes. The report from that last test, he ordered Councilor to bring, was crucial to any further actions.
One thing Red Axe would never underestimate, though, was the Councilors' Anaerther ancestry that was hidden too well for his liking. That one small finding changed all of his plans for the Seekinglanders. At the time of war, when the survival of the whole race is endangered, the loyalty goes to the only good side: the Axe’ survival.
 
The Councilor, unaware of the King's schemes, hurried towards the Seekinglander camp, just outside the Inner Block to greet the Elders and share the recent developments.
"You were lucky to arrive at the last possible moment to be granted the passage into the Wall, High Vaala," he said, bowing his head in respect in front of a tall and crisp lady.
"It's not that easy to order and manage the immediate Trek of so many people, Councilor. Even though, we have been preparing for that since Vlad left to face the King," she answered barely moving her lips.
"Thankfully, the King was too preoccupied with tracks that appeared seemingly out of nowhere, in the north. The same track we have been waiting for. Hopefully, he didn't give much thought to your arrival. I don’t like that he forbids any Seekinglander to enter the Inner Block," he said quickly, feeling a strange tug to his core that called him to go back into the Inner Block immediately.
"It was to be expected," she heaved, "The Oracle made a point to mention that, and we made a point to follow the prophecies throughout the ages. Most certainly, we won't stop now."
"Certainly," he agreed.
"Where is the Duchess and the others?" High Vaala asked nervously, glancing around in a search for the familiar faces.
"I'm afraid, I'm the only one left in here Vaala," he frowned worriedly, "They haven't been seen or heard of in the last few cycles."
"Surely they have not gone down under alone!" Vaala gasped in disbelief.
"That is the only possible conclusion," he said, sensing the immediate danger in the air.
"What are we to do if she is not around to guide us through? The female of a great worth has been foretold to lead us back into the Mines. How can it be if she is not here?" the female started to twitch nervously.
"High Vaala, sure you don't want to let the doubt seep into your core now when the time of the final fulfillment has come upon us." The Councilor wanted to calm her down and relieve the duress she had been experiencing as of late. He turned to go back to the Castle, knowing it's already too late for any of them.
"Doubts feed our demons Councilor, even mine. Especially mine," she whispered to herself after they parted their ways.
Her face aged by the decades when she relaxed the muscles that kept her rigid and straight, revealing unwanted secret. She turned to go back to the Seekinglander camp that was already set up, at the Inner Block edge. The closer they could get to the entrance, the better, she thought, but still, growing concerns of the Duchess’ current absence worried her greatly till everything changed in one moment.
High Vaala couldn’t unsee the unusual amount of guards encircling their camp. "No blood will ever be spilled by your hands at the cost of your surface existence," she began reciting the most esteemed part of the Oracle words. None of the Seekinglanders carried any kind of weaponry. The weight of their past sins still pulled them down, right into self-sacrifice.
It was only the children that she still hoped to save, the little ones completely void of the knowledge and guilt it brought that burned their parents' cores with undying inferno. Hopefully, they were safe somewhere out there, waiting to join their parents, blissfully unaware of the brutal truth the Axeland was to deal to their tribe. High Vaala had to save the children in the only way that seemed to be left, by robbing them of their tribe and the knowledge of their own origins. If that’s the price of their survival, so be it, she thought as her core started to sing its farewell Calling song.
A final prayer of the Call set upon her while the rest of her tribe joined in unnoticed by others shook the Inner Block to its core with an inaudible to the ears sound. Last gift to their final Trek. It was the power of all of the Seekinglander’ cores present there, combined in a secret song that opened the foretold Fate's gates as the red-eyed guards executed every single one of their tribe.
 
The Red Axe King stood silently by the window watching the guards encircling the Seekinglanders’ camp. Fools, who had not only believed the Oracle, but also thought they were the only ones to read it all. Self-righteous fools, he thought. The Councilors' loud steps announced arrival of the last reports on