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

had over thirty thousand years to think about it. After the fall of Gilgamesh, the Council of the Wise decided it must act to prevent the recurrence of humankind creating false gods and the re-emergence of Gadiel. Five of the six remaining Great Sages: Adapa, Al’Alim, Bilal, Cadell, and Calum, undertook to find and destroy Gadiel. They all passed to stone without achieving their aim. The last Great Sage, Dammar, left Elannort on a personal quest and eventually passed to stone without further proven knowledge of his actions. The remaining wizards were sent out, mostly in pairs, to live secretly within the redeveloping communities of humankind. Our charge was to preserve the Balance with minimum interference.”

“My colleague Mandred and I were sent to a land far away to the north west, called Albion, where we became druids amongst a group of primitive hunter-gatherer humans. We rotted away there for thousands of years. I was bored out of my mind. Mandred was no fun either. He always seemed to be plotting and scheming against me, trying to make the tribe hate me. At the time, I thought he was just taking his patronage of Satania too far. On reflection, I see that it was much more. Foresight is a wonderful power to have. I have discovered that hindsight is even stronger. There is almost no action that can’t be judged to be flawed in the revealing light of hindsight.”

“I now believe he was working secretly for Dammar in some crazy scheme. Whatever it was, he believed that he had achieved his objective because before the Sundering he passed to stone. I cannot explain why I, Manfred the Fool, should have been so important in the history of the multiverse. Why was I, the least amongst the Wise, chosen to be there that day and to be the last of the Wise struggling with the burden today? It’s true. I have been a fool. The most critical events in the history of the multiverse were unfolding around me and I failed to act. Now I finally have a second chance. But should I take it? Will it do more harm than good?”

Manfred paused briefly in his monologue. He was sweating profusely and his normally pallid complexion was flushed. I’ve never seen Manfred like this. He’s losing it big time. Jhamed shuffled nervously in his seat beside Simon. He was obviously worried too. Manfred seemed to compose himself somewhat and continued, looking directly at Simon. “You see, Simon, we have met before. Over thirty thousand years ago.” He really has lost it.

“A few months before what I now believe to have been the Sundering, a strange, pale, red-haired boy appeared amongst the tribe. The tribe had never seen anyone with your size or colouring before. They were all small, dark, and hairy. You carried a sword, which I never saw unsheathed. You guarded it and your secrecy closely. How could I have been so foolish? Fleischaker was under my very nose and I never saw it. You participated in the events that led to the Sundering. I will say no more at this time, for I fear that I will contaminate the time stream if I speak more of the events that took place.”

“It is clear to me now that we have come full circle. It is from here and now that the events that precipitated the Sundering were caused. I have unlocked the time portal. Only one person, the Everlasting Hero, may use it. It is a paradox. How could the Sundering be caused by what we do now, for we would not act unless the Sundering had already occurred? It has given me many a headache I can assure you.”

“We can choose to act in a number of ways. We can refuse to do anything. Perhaps the Sundering will not take place. Perhaps we will all cease to exist. We can act to ensure that what took place really happened. Perhaps we will go around the circle again. We can act to try to prevent the Sundering. If we are successful, the multiverse may not come into existence. Billions of people who would otherwise have lived may never exist. Or the Sundering may come later, because of another cause. Perhaps the Sundering is inevitable, whatever we do. We can act to try to alter the impact of the Sundering in some way. Perhaps we can change the course of history that has led to us being here today.”

“I am open to all suggestions, for we must decide how to act. Until we decide, I will speak no more of things that occurred long ago, or perhaps, for one of us, will occur very soon. What I will say though, is that Simon clearly had the Sword with him. Therefore, we will find it. Does anyone have any ideas? Kris, perhaps you know a story that will guide us?” Manfred sighed as he sat down. The efforts of so many thousands of years were evident in his posture.

Everyone was still stunned by Manfred’s revelations. Simon observed the faces. Most were open mouthed. Kris muttered something about knowing nothing. Gamying was the first to get to his feet.

“There is a third imperative. Tamarlan must not fall. I say this not just for myself and my people, but also for the dwarves and ultimately the elves and Elannort being attacked from the north. Do you not think our present need is most urgent? We cannot and should not attempt to tamper with the past. Let the Sword be found and taken north.”

Aglaral was quickly on his feet too. “No! The imperative lies in the City States. The attack will come from the west. The Sword must be found and taken to Kartage, where we will soon face the Evil on behalf of all FirstWorld.”

The two warriors stood chin to chin. They look like two stags about to fight. Before anything further could happen, there was a banging on the doors and they opened to reveal a servant carrying a silver tray on which rested a scroll or manuscript of some kind. Manfred was quickly on his feet again. “I gave strict orders that we were not to be disturbed. What is the meaning of this?”

The servant stopped and bowed low. He seemed unperturbed by Manfred’s outburst. “Forgive me, my Sage, but something of extraordinary importance has occurred and I felt that you would need to hear of it immediately.” He waited for Manfred’s signal to proceed. “Today, there is a new statue in the Avenue of Heroes.” More surprises. Who can it be? Zenethyr? “It is my sad duty to report that the Sage Zenethyr has passed to stone. When we could not locate him this morning, we searched his quarters and found this letter. It is addressed to you, my Sage. It is sealed with the Stamp of the Wise.”

The servant moved forward to present Manfred with the tray. At his side, Simon heard Jhamed mutter something about it being very important as the seal was only used for critical documents and could only be opened by another wizard. Manfred took the document and broke the seal, which took the familiar, to Simon, form of a five-pointed star. He slowly opened the letter and began to read. The room was in total silence. The servant slipped out, backwards, and closed the doors. At length, Manfred looked up and addressed them.

“It appears that I am well named, for I have been a bigger fool than even Adapa realised. I wonder what Bedwyr saw in me. I shall read you the letter from Zenethyr in its entirety. Whatever he may have done or not done, he was one of the Wise and should be honoured as such today. He has taken his place in the Avenue of Heroes and, through his final actions, he has earned great honour. I ask you all to stand and observe one minute’s silence to respect his passing.”

They all stood and, in their respective ways, showed respect and honour to the Sage Zenethyr. Jhamed removed his hat and brushed back the cascade of curls from his face. The warriors in the group displayed their weapons while holding one hand over their hearts. Rheanna stood erect and still. Manfred held his staff in both hands in front of him and looked straight ahead. Kris stood with eyes closed and head bowed. Simon shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another. How can I honour him? I wish I had known him. I wish I had a sword to hold. No! I wish I had my sword to hold.

The minute seemed to take forever. Eventually, they sat down, with the exception of Manfred who began to read the letter. “It appears that Zenethyr wrote this before he retired last evening. I trust that he slept well and passed peacefully. There remain but four spaces for wizards in the Avenue of Heroes. I observe that, other than myself, the only Sages who have not passed to stone are Weylyn the Wolf, Frisa the Curly-Haired, and Hroc the Crow. This is what Zenethyr wrote.”

‘My dear Manfred, it is true that we have never seen eye to eye. I have been among the loudest who called you Manfred the Fool. I regret that now. You were never the fool. After Bedwyr, you were always closest to understanding the truth. I was corrupted. I strayed from the path that was appointed to me. It was only listening to the meeting today that I realised this. I do not deserve your forgiveness, nor do I seek it. I only hope that my final act might serve to make some amends for my previous actions. I have been a bit player in a larger conspiracy, along with Weylyn, Frisa and Hroc. You may find this hard to believe, but Dammar still lives. I do not know how he achieved it, but he managed to fake his own death. Although his statue stands in the Avenue of Heroes, he did not die. For a time, Dammar was the head of our group. However, we have not heard from him for many millennia. Weylyn leads us now. He is plotting to become immortal and a god. He seeks to rule all of FirstWorld and the multiverse too for all I know. My personal view is that he has gone insane. My role has been to search for the Sword. Dammar had foreseen the return of the Everlasting Hero and Weylyn believes that only the Hero stands between him and FirstWorld domination. Therefore, he sought both the Sword and the Hero across all the multiverse to ensure that they would not be reunited. After great travail, I located the Sword. It is held by the Witch Queen Freda of Dishley. She is very powerful. Weylyn dispatched Hroc and Frisa to recover it. They have not been heard of for some time, although their pedestals remain empty in the Avenue of Heroes. I fear for their safety. I do you this service, Manfred. I have shown you the location of the Sword. The rest is up to you. By the time you read this, I shall have taken my appointed place in the Avenue of Heroes. I ask only that you speak no ill of Zenethyr the Seeker on the day he passed to stone.’

Manfred paused and stood in silence for a while. The room was hushed, each caught up in their own thoughts. As if Gadiel isn’t enough, now we’ve got an insane Sage to deal with. It never rains but it pours. We know where my sword is, though. That’s good. Simon was reminded of his experiences in the dungeons of Dishley and he knew that even then Fleischaker had been calling out to him. I’m coming!

Manfred spoke again. “Whether this is amazing synchronicity or we are being played as pawns in a game of chess I do not know. However, it’s clear I must leave for Dishley immediately.”

“No!” Rheanna was