Chapter 10
A bumble
bee buzzed by Tolian’s face as he opened his eyes. He had no idea where he was. He was fairly certain he had never been there
before. He lay in a bed in some sort of
a balcony with ivy climbing vigorously to form a roof and two side walls. Even from the bed, it afforded him a view of
fabulous stone buildings hewn from the mountain’s own rock. A small city stretched out below him. It was so natural. Grass and trees grew on roof tops and some of
the trees supported lavish platforms and tree houses. The sun was low in the western sky, and a
gentle breeze kissed his cheek. It was
breathtaking. He was obviously high up
in the city or complex (or wherever it was he was located). For a moment he thought he might be dead, but
the reality of the scene quickly dispelled such notions. The last thing he remembered was Brythia’s
anguished face as he collapsed beneath his own sword’s bite. Where was he now? He groaned and raised himself up a little
bit, a searing pain shot through his chest.
Beneath the fine silk bed robe he was dressed in, he could feel the
bandages that covered his wound.
As he
stirred he heard a woman’s voice from behind him, “Welcome,” she said. Her voice possessed a tremendous mystery and
authority. “Welcome to Hyge Bryth,
Tolian, Son of Tolris, Prince of Lorm, Pride of the House of Hemris, Greatest
of the West’s bravest warriors.”
The owner
of the voice walked from behind him into view.
She was a striking woman. It was
impossible to guess her age, she did not appear old, but her demeanor bespoke
of a great matriarchal wisdom, usually only achieved by the elderly.
Her hair was greying slightly, but retained the majority of a deep black
hue. Her dark eyes looked right through
him. She wore the same type of dress
worn by the druidesses he had encountered.
Her cloak sparkled brilliantly with shades of greens and blues in the
setting sun. Upon her brow sat a circlet
of gold which supported a great variety of colored feathers and gems, dangling
as the vines of ivy did from the roof of the porch. There was something in the way she spoke that
reminded Tolian of the ocean. Deep and
mysterious.
She
continued as she walked, “I am Magara, High Priestess of the Druidic
Order. I regret that you had to be
brought here against your will, but I assure you that we wish nothing but that
you should be comfortable and happy while you are with us. I only wish the circumstances of your visit
were more pleasant.”
She paused and
placed her hand upon his forehead and held it there a moment.
“Your fever
is down, today. That’s good. How are you feeling?”
“I’m not
sure,” Tolian said.
“Ah, but,
you must be honest with your doctor, or you won’t get better.”
He was
groggy still, but was relieved to find that he was feeling much better. That was, until he remembered why they had
brought him to Hyge Bryth.
“I don’t
recall asking for your assistance. I
believe I was exercising what options my honor allowed under such circumstances. You should have left me die,” he said.
A sternness
colored her reply, “You must have a unique sense of honor that would allow
every living creature die rather than submit to what you regard as a dishonored
state. It sounds more like a coward’s
honor to me.”
Tolian
glared at her. He most certainly did not
care for the insulting tone she had taken.
Magara
wasn’t finished speaking, “Oh, and by the way, I did not save your life, I
merely took over your care quite recently.
It was Brythia who used her knowledge of healing to save you; and to
miraculously bring you alive, to our temple here.”
At the
mention of Brythia’s name, he was caught in a brief wave of joyous reverie.
“Where is
Brythia?” he asked.
Magara
replied in a matter of fact tone, “Brythia, Priestess of the Sun, has been
arrested and imprisoned for treason against the Druidic Order and the Created
World. She shall be executed at dawn.”
Tolian’s
head spun out of control. His thoughts
reeled like a mad man. “Arrested? Treason?”
“Indeed,
serious charges. Yet they are true, and
she does not deny them. I’m afraid you
will not see her again.”
“But,
that’s impossible,” he blurted. He caught himself and attempted to be
discreet, “I mean, I got to know her, um...fairly well. And she seemed fanatically dedicated to your
order.”
He thought
he witnessed the slightest of smiles on the High Druidesses’ face as he
defended Brythia. For an instant he was
forced to consider what a thing his life had become. Here he had been kidnapped and brought to
some ancient citadel to be robbed of his manhood, and the only thought in his
head was for the woman who had kidnapped him.
His own injuries left his mind, his own concerns vanished. Brythia’s welfare was the only thing that
mattered to him.
“Do not
overly concern yourself with her safety, for even if she was not going to be
executed in the morning, she would die soon enough with the rest of the World,
as I have been given to understand that you have refused to assist us in
preserving the forces of life from evil.
In a six month’s time, everything will be dead. Everything.
What matters then of the death of one?”
“Here we go
again,” Tolian grumbled.
“Do we vex
you, Your Highness? Are our pleas blown
from your ears by the wind of your ego?
We can do nothing without your cooperation. If you do not wish to assist us, you do not
have to.”
“Well
somebody should have explained that to me somewhat earlier on, saving us both a
whole lot of trouble,” he said caustically.
He was weary, and he was worried sick about Brythia. There was no use in denying it, Tolian had fallen deeply in love with the
golden-haired druidess.
“But tell
me, what of Brythia? What is the nature
of her alleged treachery?”
“Her crime
is severe. She has disregarded her
solemn oaths of service to nature, and disobeyed a direct command of the
Druidic Council.”
“In what
way, if it’s any of my business?”
“It most
definitely is your business, Your Majesty.
Indeed, it is. Brythia was
arrested attempting to free you from Hyge Bryth. She was trying to take you, unconscious as
you were to your freedom. She has let
her personal feelings for you get in the way of her duty to the order. You must, of course, know that she loves
you. She had smuggled you nearly to the
main gate before she was caught.”
Tolian was stupefied. After all that, she had gone against
everything she had held in importance, just to help him.
“But,”
Tolian said. “I thought you said I
wasn’t a prisoner here. How, then, could
it be treason to assist me in leaving?”
“You are truly
free, however, it was not Brythia’s place to take that decision both out of
your hands, and out of ours. She would
have robbed us an opportunity to attempt to convince you that our plan is the
best course of action to deal with the Demon.
When she told me of her feelings, she was ordered to keep her distance
from you. This she deliberately
disobeyed.”
“You would
kill a woman for following the nature of her heart? Are you druids ignorant of justice? Have you no mercy in your own heart?”
She stared
into Tolian’s eyes with a look of intensity as she spoke, “What justice would
you have for one who deliberately attempted to remove from us the one hope of
the world. She is guilty and she
willingly admits it. Fear not, she will
die bravely.”
“Is there
no other way?” Tolian found himself almost begging.
“There is
always another way, my son. Always.”
“And that
is?”
“If you
accept the responsibility of Champion, you would have the authority to spare
Brythia’s life. It had been decided that
the Champion would have provisional authority over our order, so she can best
determine our defense against the Demon.
If you will become Champion you would, therefore, have the power over
us. We would have to obey your will.”
Tolian
stared out over the vast temple complex that stretched out below them. Birds danced and flitted through the air, as
he looked long into the golden glow of the sun’s last rays. Already candles and lamps were being lit
below. In reality there had never been
an easier decision for him. He knew he
loved Brythia too much to let her die, especially as she had placed her life in
jeopardy in an effort to save him. To
save him from his destiny.
His voice
carried none of the royal haughtiness that some times came through in his
speech, just raw anger.
“I’ll be
your champion, Magara.” He said.
She fell
down to her knees and kissed his hand, “I knew you would choose wisely in the
end. You shall not regret this decision,
I assure you. Nor shallthe House of
Hemris. Myrthis already carries the next
King of Lorm in her; your line shall not suffer from your cooperation. The World shall know of your deeds if you
are successful in defeating the Demon.
One day songs of praise shall be sung for this day...the Day the
Champion accepted his Destiny.”
She looked
quite motherly then. “Rest now,
my child. If you wish I shall have
Brythia released immediately.”
Tolian
nodded.
“You have
two days in which to rest up. We must
begin the Ritual of Transformation with the New Moon.”
She
summoned some attendants to minister to Tolian’s needs, and then left.
Tolian
lay back down, staring numbly at the ivy above him.
Copyright 2002, 2015 Diana Hignutt
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