Quest for Knowledge (Volume 1 of the FirstWorld Saga) - Christopher Jackson-Ash (black female authors .txt) 📗

These were the last words Simon heard before he drifted into a deep sleep. He dreamed of being part of a happy family; picnics on the beach, presents under the Christmas tree, hugs and cuddles from his father, and kisses from his mother. For a few hours, at least, he was safe and warm.

Next day, immediately after breakfast, they assembled again in the domed hall. The seating arrangements were different though. Today, they would all sit around the table as equals. The number of people present was smaller, Simon noted. There was no sign of Lord Velacourt, who had apparently stormed out after a late night meeting with Manfred. Nor was Zenethyr present. No one seemed to know where he had gone. Ceridwen, having given her warning, had returned to her people. She had left one of the twins, Taran, as her representative. A group of nine people sat down to determine the fate of the multiverse – Manfred the wizard, last representative of the Sages; Simon Redhead, final incarnation of the Everlasting Hero; Jhamed al Suraqi, Companion to Heroes; Gamying, Heir-Regent of Tamarlan; Rheanna, Custodian of the Great Library of Rhakotis; Taran, elven warrior; Dawit son of Dia son of Din, Prince of the Dwarves; Aglaral, Captain of the City States; and Kris the Bard, storyteller from Karo.

They sat around the outside of one quarter of the huge black table. A large letter W was inlaid into the table close to where Simon and Jhamed were sitting. Nonchalantly, Simon let his hand be drawn to and then caress the shape. The effect was immediate. As if receiving an electric shock, Simon sat bolt upright. Images flooded his mind. An old man, like Manfred but different. The eyes, look at the eyes, so red yet cold, like the eyes of an animal gleaming at night; a dog, no a wolf. A name, Weylyn.

The fine red hairs on Simon’s body stood to attention. His entire skin seemed to erupt in goose bumps. He shivered. In his mind a wolf howled, then words began to form. Who are you? Why do you disturb me? A hero is it? Another of Manfred’s fools’ errands. You will die soon Red Boy. Pity it won’t be me ripping out your throat and drinking your blood. Your fate will be far worse than that.

Simon screamed as a savage laugh exploded in his mind. Both Jhamed and Manfred saw what was happening and dragged his hand away from the carved letter. Simon sat back in his chair, breathing heavily, but otherwise unhurt.

“Curse our stupidity!” Manfred exclaimed. “Jhamed, how can you be a companion of heroes if you can’t even protect your charge in the safest place in the land? What did you see, Simon? What did you tell him? What did he say to you?”

Simon quietly told Manfred everything he had seen and heard. Jhamed looked on with concern, clearly upset by Manfred’s barb.

“We have learned something today,” Manfred said “There are schemes afoot that I had hardly dared contemplate. Whether the remaining wizards are aligned with Gadiel or pursuing some plan of their own, I wonder. Weylyn means 'son of the wolf'. He was ever a cunning fellow, as I recall, though very minor in the overall scheme of things. Zenethyr was close to him once; I wonder if he could shed some light on things? Where is he, the Balance take him? Unfortunately, we have alerted them, whoever they may be, that we have found the Hero. Perhaps they won’t take us seriously. We have been here a few times before. Simon, please take care. You clearly have exceptional talents that we are just learning about.”

Simon sat back in his chair, unnerved by the unexpected experience. I’m not safe, even here. Where can I go? I want to hide. Some hero, you are! The others present looked on with concern.

Manfred brought the meeting to order. “While the number is disappointingly small, it may be significant that nine people will today determine actions that will have significant impact on the fate of the multiverse. I fear that yesterday’s meeting was the last meeting of the Wise. I cannot feel Zenethyr’s life force today. I know not where he is. When there is no longer more than a single wizard present, I’m afraid we cannot have a meeting of the Wise. Nevertheless, we nine have been charged with doing what we can to save the Balance. Melasurej must not fall. It is our sacred duty to protect it to our final breath, if necessary. Let us determine a course of action.”

Manfred paused and looked around the table at the expectant faces. In some, he saw hope. In most, he saw fear. In Simon’s he saw a mixture of incredulity, excitement and fear.

“I have spent much time in recent millennia researching the ancient texts. In that time, I have travelled often to Rhakotis and conferred with the scholars there. I know that Rheanna, the current Custodian, has made it her life’s work to study these mystic words. Therefore, I cede the floor to Rheanna to tell us what she and the scholars have learned.”

Rheanna stood and bowed low to Manfred. She was dressed immaculately again. It looks like she’s going to a fancy concert or dinner party.

“I am honoured, my Sage, to present the work of the finest scholars in FirstWorld. The writings we have studied are but fragments of texts that date back to the brief time after the creation of the first and second born; before humankind, as we know ourselves, came into existence. They predate the Balance by several thousand years. They are predominantly elfish in nature, although a few dwarfish texts do exist and these have been used to try to corroborate the interpretations. They are the writings of the priests of Jeohab. We believe that these priests were the link between Jeohab and the rulers. Through them, Jeohab tried to force his laws on the elves. After the establishment of the Balance, the role of the priests diminished rapidly and they soon disappeared. The ancient texts were discarded. We have been lucky to find as many fragments as we have. We are grateful to the elves for providing them to us for study.” She bowed low again, this time towards Taran. The elf stood and responded in kind.

“We think that the texts describe Jeohab’s vision of the future,” Rheanna went on. “A vision that is likely to occur if his followers turn from his path. It is a vision of a future where Chaos is the victor. A vision of the future that is not set in tablets of stone, but one that his charges can escape from by doing as he prescribes. It seems that his charges ignored his pleas and his vision may be coming to pass. When Jeohab was giving this information to the priests, it may well be that he already had a prescience that the Great Old Ones would be leaving and that the Balance would be established. He talks of the Guardians, which we believe are the Sages. We believe that Jeohab foresaw the Sundering and the formation of the multiverse. He foresaw the collapse into Chaos and the faltering of the Balance. He foresaw a final battle between Law and Chaos. As the god of Law, we believe he was trying to give his followers one final chance to defeat Chaos, when all would seem to be lost.”

“It is our interpretation that we are now rapidly approaching that time. We must act according to what is written, if we are to avert total Chaos victory. The texts speak of a great talisman that was lost and must be found. We interpret that to be the Sword. ‘A great hero shall come forth, who will bear the mark of Gammon, and he shall claim his talisman. He will be as the flame and shall burn everything before him. Of neither Law nor Chaos will he be, nor shall he respect them.’ So it is written. The Hero will be of flame – we interpret that to mean red-haired. We cannot fathom who Gammon is or was, but we have determined that the mark is in the shape of a five-pointed star, a pentagram, and it is written that it will be in a place where few shall spy it. By your leave, my Lord Avatar, do you have any strange marks on your body?”

The question was clearly addressed to Simon. What does she mean, Avatar? I don’t have any strange marks. Well, only one. She can’t mean that, surely. Just the thought embarrassed him.

Before Simon could speak, Jhamed was on his feet, talking excitedly. “The Avatar has such a star shaped mark. It is the final proof, if the scabbard were not enough yesterday.” Jhamed sat. How the hell does he know that? Simon blushed.

Rheanna continued, obviously pleased by the response. “Excellent. The long hours poring over the texts have been worthwhile. The more I see and hear, the more confident I become that we are on the right track. Unfortunately, I can shed little light on the whereabouts of the Sword. I have only this fragment that may be relevant. ‘Far away, an evil queen shall rise, more powerful than the greatest elven queen. Around her, she shall gather all things powerful, protected by her spells. No mortal creature shall vanquish her. All shall fail, for she shall be the Druids’ Bane.’ It seems you must defeat this queen to find the Sword, before the Hero can take his place in the defence of Elannort and the free world.”

“How you do that, I can offer no ideas. However, something more perplexing seems to be at the heart of the prophecy. Our translation, as best we can understand is thus. ‘When the two who are one, Return to the sun. When the flame-haired child, Is first become. While the guardians sleep, Humankind will weep.’ We believe it is a reference to the Sundering because it is included immediately before a passage that seems to describe the multiverse. ‘Where there was one, there shall be many. Where there was order there shall be chaos. But they shall be as shadows of the first and if the first fall so shall they all.’ We know that many of the primitive human tribes worshipped the sun as a god. We think that the flame-haired child may refer to the Hero. We cannot explain the two who are one. The guardians refer to the Sages. That’s all I have, my Sage.” She bowed once more towards Manfred and sat down.

Manfred rose and stood deep in thought for a few moments. “I thank you, Rheanna, for your precise and I believe accurate assessment of the ancient texts. I understand how much hard work has gone into what seems such a brief report. I agree that we have two imperatives. The first is to find the Sword, which may be very difficult as we have few clues to follow. The second, on which I can report the results of my research, is for the Hero to return to the Sundering. It is my interpretation that the sun in the ancient text refers to the Sundering. However, I’m afraid that I too have been unable to fathom the meaning of the two who are one. I have spent much time thinking about the Sundering. Was it inevitable? Will we be the cause of it? Should we try to prevent it? Are we fated to take part in it, regardless of our choices? I have been plagued by these questions for what seems like an eternity. I was, you see, there at the Sundering.”

Manfred paused to let the shock of his revelation sink in. What is he talking about? Simon wondered, seemingly as surprised as everyone else.

“I didn’t realise it at the time, unfortunately. However, I have