Brinks In Time:The Legend of Valendri's Relic Page 2

  Neeza continued, “Very well. Inform their Kittara mentors of the plan. It should be in effect immediately.”

  The other mages nodded in agreement. At least that went by fast. Normally, any discussion involving the Ferigor’s Hand lasted hours. They must have sensed his desire to not stay much longer, too.

  Neeza did have one thing he wanted to follow up on, so he asked next, “Has anyone heard from our Paladin candidate? I believe her name is Amber.”

  Herodit answered, “I last heard she stopped at Fort Za for food and supplies. That was a little over two years ago. I do feel her life force though, so she still is alive. Given her quest, that alone is an accomplishment.”

  That was good. Neeza actually liked her. She brought a fire the day he initiated her Paladin quest. Normally appointed during a large celebration, Amber requested to have it small because she only wanted the celebration if she returned. None of the others cared too much to discuss the half-mages. They couldn’t be avoided forever, he knew. He always wanted to form some type of alliance with them (they did have mage blood in them after all). But the council would never have the ears for it as they considered them abominations not even worthy of living. Paladin trials were their way of dealing with the supposed half-mage ‘problem’.

  Sydis continued, “I’m glad you brought up the half-mages, Honorable Neeza. This issue has been brought to us by the head of the Kittara. Apparently, the half-mage population has been steadily on the rise. More and more mage women are giving birth to half-bloods. The Kittara are running thin, and are requesting immediate approval from the council to strengthen their numbers. I think this would be wise. We are pushing more and more on them that if they are to keep up with their duties we must increase their size.”

  Another increase . . . he had already increased it by 500 people in the last year. He understood why Sydis would approve such a measure. Many of his students he taught decided to stay with the Kittara after their military service. Many more probably would too if Neeza didn’t put a cap on their numbers. But, since the Kittara was not an official branch of the military, his influence on their decisions was small. They had certainly overgrown their original function, and that worried him greatly.

  The council, however, seemed to agree with the idea. Before he retired, he needed to make it a priority to find some reform to take away some of the Kittara’s powers. It wouldn’t be today, unfortunately.

  Before Neeza was able to answer, Haldirin, his personal messenger and confidant, opened the council chamber doors. It took everyone by surprise, wondering what on Gyyerlith he was doing there. Neeza was very curious too. He had told him to only interrupt the council meeting if something of dire importance arose. He even seemed out of breath, despite being young enough that he hadn’t even grown a full beard yet.

  Neeza stood up and asked, “Haldirin, you have news for me?”

  After he finally caught his breath, he replied, “Yes, Honorable Neeza. I was told to retrieve you as quickly as possible. It involves that private project of yours. I was informed it was most urgent.”

  Haldirin’s words sank in the mage leader’s throat. By the gods, did she finally have another lead for him? She must have. She wouldn’t have sent for him if she didn’t. Neeza looked over at the rest of the council trying to mask his excitement.

  “I apologize. I must see what Haldirin has for me. Continue your discussions and leave a parchment in my quarters. I will look them over tonight.”

  The others stood up as Neeza stepped down to leave the council room. Sydis watched with great curiosity. He had heard about this ‘special project’ that Neeza was conducting. He had been trying for years to find out its nature, but the only person he knew associated with it was Haldirin, and he wouldn’t talk. If he could only find out whom he was talking to. With the telepathic block on the council room during meetings, he couldn’t even get his student, Cyprinus, to keep an eye on him. Oh well, there would be other times.

  Sydis continued, “So, as before, the subject about the half-mages.”

  In the hallway outside the council chambers, there were a few people walking around, mainly the couriers. It wasn’t uncommon for the council men to send messages right after each meeting, normally to inform parties they were representing of the good or bad news. None were in as much haste as Neeza and Haldirin. They had to be careful when they talked about the more specific natures of Neeza’s project. He realized it may be a selfish quest, one could even say it was an obsession of his, but one that he felt he needed to finish for his soul to die in peace.

  When he felt they were safely out of earshot of anyone, Neeza asked, “Did she tell you anything? Anything at all?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. She told me only to get you and bring you to the meeting place. As I said, it seemed very urgent.”

  And when she said something was urgent, she usually meant it. She was not one to call false claims on something. The only way they were going to find out more about it was to see her.

  “So, what is it that you have found for me, Inno? It has been years since you’ve contacted me about my project.”

  Inno was still dressed in her alchemical aprons when Neeza entered Mierena’s old shop, the former business of his late wife. Haldirin waited outside in a plain robe to ensure no one would surprise them and to be sure no one could identify him. Inno’s involvement in this project was one of the closest guarded secrets Neeza had.

  Inno was Mierena’s assistant for years and rarely talked. Because of her adventurous nature, his wife would always send her to get supplies and ingredients. As he later found out after her passing, she also had more secretive tasks assigned to her as well.

  Mierena’s death was hard on all, but the two people in this room were a few affected the most. They worked tirelessly behind the scenes trying to find a way to save her from her Gerrun disease infliction since Mierena was willing to help others before saving herself. Unfortunately, there was not enough time. Gerrun’s disease was tough to cure because there didn’t seem to be a way to reverse the decay physically and mentally. He was certain she would have been touched by what he was doing, but the rest of the mages wouldn’t. He used many funds to form expeditions or missions blanketed as training exercises, almost all coming up empty. He couldn’t even tell Divi what he was doing. If she unintentionally said something to the wrong people, it would have dire consequences for him and possibly his family. That is why it never went past Inno and Haldirin. They were trustworthy, and more importantly, extremely loyal to him.

  “I’m sorry, but the nature of our project is such I have to be discreet while not being discreet.”

  There was little doubt as to Inno’s complicated task. She had to gather data mostly outside of the mage territories. So she was frequent in the human port cities, under guise that she is looking for ingredients. He was just happy no one had wooed her on her numerous trips. She was quite an attractive mage that would have made any younger mage quite pleased . . . or human for that matter, though she wouldn’t do that. She may like being silent, but she understood the consequences of such an action.

  “You are right. So tell me.”

  Inno finally said as she continued to work around the shop, “I was just over in South Cordca. A very strange rumor has been going around. There is a series of islands surrounding a mountain in the western seas that any sailor who floats near them is driven mad. Many even crashing their ships into the stones saying they had to find it.”

  Neeza had learned to take any seafarer’s tales with a grain of salt as normally there were many embellishments, leading to nothing but a wild garlon chase. He had never seen Inno this excited while telling one, however. Did she find proof that these tales were not fiction?

  “Did they name the island chain?”

  Inno nodded and replied, “The Simorgon Islands.”

  The Simorgan Chain! But she couldn’t possibly mean the same he was thinking about. Those islands he heard were not very inhabitable and that they should
be avoided at all costs. It had to do with something about the land being quite dangerous now.

  Neeza confirmed, “You mean the same chain that houses Mount Hrithgorn?”

  Inno nodded. This didn’t make sense, he thought getting ready to dismiss the tale. Mount Hrithgron had a short, albeit interesting, history. The stories told long ago, spoke of it as an elf stronghold. Lost after their victory against the Ettui, he was led to believe it was deserted. But if sailors that are once sane all of a sudden grow mad, perhaps there is some black magic afoot there. The distance eliminated the idea that he was embarking on a solo mission.

  “Are there any elvish tales that might explain this?”

  Inno answered, “Just one. The Legend of Valendri’s Relic.”

  He in truth couldn’t recall it. Then again, there were many elvish legends out there, so it was entirely possible he had simply forgotten it. He would have to do his research tonight.

  Neeza asked, “Were you able to confirm about this Relic? I mean, many elf tales like our own usually concern of lost artifacts that can never be found. I just don’t want to commit a trip if there's nothing for us to find.”

  “I knew you would say that, so I talked with my Elf Eye friend. He told me he has seen the shipwrecks first hand. When I mentioned the Relic, he grew silent and would speak nothing more other than he felt a dark presence about that place.”

  That is an odd reaction indeed coming from an elf. Elves usually loved when someone asked about their legends and their tales. For one to not want to speak about them with the recent goings on was strange. That dark presence also worried him too. What could possibly be there that was driving these captains to the brink of madness? However, to Neeza, all this information was unimportant. There was still one important question that needed to be answered.

  “So, what does this Relic do?”

  Inno thought he would never ask. “It has the power to return the dead to the living. And not like the way a necromancer would, where an empty shell of the person’s former self would return to life. We’re talking living, breathing just like death never happened.”

  Now that had Neeza’s attention. He had very few regrets in his time as the leader of Myyril. One of those was that he was unable to save his wife. Mierena gave him everything, and he couldn’t help her the one time she needed it. That was the nature of his special project. Nearly 300 years ago, he failed a mission to acquire a long, lost Myyrilian object that could have saved her, thwarted by the Cordcan forces before he could finish the ritual. She died 290 years later, but the sickness had won in his eyes after that day. He would not get another chance in his lifetime to perform the ritual. Inno’s lack of new information since then had him lose further hope. If what she said was true, then there was still a chance, even if slight, to bring Mierena back. This truly was exciting news!

  “What does one need to make it happen?”

  Inno explained. “A personal effect of the person and then to complete the necessary procedures and rituals. This shop is littered with her personal belongings, and I’m sure we can figure out what is needed to be done with the ritual.”

  Neeza asked, “Will she still have Gerrun’s disease? I don’t want this to bring her back only to have her inflicted again with it.”

  Inno responded, “If we can bring her back to life, she would have already died from the disease, meaning it would become dormant in her, creating antibodies. With those, our half-elf friends might be able to finally create a cure for Gerrun’s disease! Mierena had always said she would be the key to eradicating it. And as fate would have it, she might have been telling the truth.”

  The news kept getting better and better. Thank the gods the half-elves had discovered the existence of antibodies. It was a relatively new discovery, but it had helped them discover cures and preventative measures to many diseases that had high mortality rates. He hardly saw a reason why this wouldn’t be a good idea to at least try.

  Neeza, to comfort his own decision, asked, “You are certain of all of this?”

  Inno gave him a disbelieving look, almost afraid she was going to give him the silent treatment. It would have truly been a shame to never hear Inno's beautiful voice again.

  “Who was it that told you about the Sealed Cave on Dyyros? Me! If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have told you.”

  That answer would have to do. He didn’t want to anger her, even though they were all-for-one in this project. Oh, he was so happy the only thing he could think to do was go to Inno and hug her! It was not common for mages to engage in physical contact unless married, but given the circumstances of the news, he felt it was appropriate. As he let go, he had a large smile on his face.

  “My, we have much work to do. We have to get a boat, I have to select a team, oh my, this is exciting! But I am curious of one thing. Why didn’t you just wait to tell me this? I mean, I am thrilled you didn’t, but why pull me out of the council meeting?”

  Inno suddenly went mute, looking down toward the ground. That wasn’t good. He was hoping her excitement of the relic was all the urgency that she had, but apparently there was more.

  Neeza asked again, “Inno?”

  Inno finally looked up with a worried expression. “The sailors also told me that I have not been the only one to ask about the relic. You might not be the only person after it.

  2

  Neeza was nearly to the dock. When Inno told him there may be others going after this relic, he knew he had to act fast. He was not going to allow another chance to bring his beloved back go by the wayside. He failed her once, once too many. Never again.

  The dock was relatively small as Myyril never really did much sea travel. For whatever the reason, mages were not good swimmers. Even for the rare ones who could, they struggled. Neeza at a younger age could swim decently, but that was before he grew his beard. Still, there were a handful of mages that called themselves seasoned veterans of the seas. Most of them were viewed as crazy, but that was exactly what he needed at the moment.

  Myyril was like any major city of the times, with slight differences of course. It had a grand epicenter where the palace and Mage Schools were located, surrounded by the much poorer families. Located on the Gunjumi Peninsula, it was the furthest city in the south on the east coast of the mainland. They enjoyed everything south of the Sea of the Unifier and up to the outpost of Barnat . . . where the elves’ territory started. Everything north of that belonged to the humans minus the Great Northern Desert. Especially with the Human territories, it was land being wasted as far as the mages were concerned. The mage lands were grassy, serene, and beautiful . . . well, grassy at least west of the Rim. To call everything west of the Rim serene was a stretch even he couldn’t hide behind. At least they weren’t destroying their forests to make way for industry and other selfish means like the humans were.

  Humans and Mages had not gotten along since the Great War seven hundred years ago. It was sad that nothing changed in all those years. He had tried to resolve this gap with the humans many, many years ago. They didn’t look much different. After the Dyyros ‘invasion’ as they called it, any efforts he made to form a treaty with them died with his wife. They were one of the reasons he couldn’t complete the ceremony, thus they were one of the parties he blamed for being unable to save her. He wasn’t going to forgive them for that. Enough of dwelling on the past for the moment. He had to focus on the here and now.

  Despite his far distance away from the dock, he could see a line of people standing next to a medium-sized boat. He hoped Haldirin did well in his recruiting efforts. He had notified the heads of the various Schools of Magic that he was going on a mission, and if they wanted to volunteer anyone, Haldirin would be by to collect them, and any supplies needed. He also sent private messages to the mage seafarers to see if any would sign up. This was risky, because he had to tell them at least where they were going. If one didn’t, a captain would most likely turn you away.

  The real risk of course was that they, or som
eone who overheard them, could tell Sydis. It was imperative that they leave before he found out. He knew he would not only try to stop them, but also try and use the mission against him saying he was reckless to chase after shadows. With the Kittara on his side, there was a great possibilty he could overthrow Neeza. If he could bring the relic back, however, Sydis would lose all arguments. So, he was quite eager to see the team assembled for this journey.

  Haldirin made sure he met his ruler before they reached the lineup. He felt bad for his messenger as he doubt he got much sleep last night. He knew he barely got any himself, but he began to wonder if his assistant had gotten any at all.

  “Good morn, Honorable Neeza!”

  “Good morn to you as well. I see you were successful in recruiting a team and captain. Great work!”

  Haldirin replied, “Thank you, but I can’t take credit for the captain. He was the only one that said yes. The others told me to go jump in a lake, to put it nicely. They said Mount Hrithgorn is cursed, and we are fools to be going on such an errand. The rest all were assigned by their headmasters or volunteered.”

  Neeza replied, “Well, let’s get acquainted. I am eager to see what was given to us so generously.”

  Haldirin seemed hesitant, but finally chased after Neeza. When they were finally in the eyesight of his companions, he stopped. Nearly every person was around his daughter’s age, if not younger. Was this seriously what they were going to be giving him for this important mission? Kids?

  “I see you got your first glimpse at who will be accompanying us.”

  “They’re so young. I was hoping they would send us some seasoned mages. We don’t know what we are going to face out there.”

  Haldirin explained, “I know, but being as I couldn’t tell much about why and where we were going, they took it literally as a training mission. They sent out apprentices and early students. I know they are young, but I think we have a fine, ambitious group of people. Meet them, and you may change your mind.”