A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 82
He had hoped for another large chamber with carvings, but on the other side he found nothing grand. It was only a small room, a container created for only one purpose. At the center of it stood a dais, and atop it a box. Though his hands trembled eagerly, he forced himself to slow down.
The box was ornately carved, yet his eye struggled to identify any symbols in the swirling patterns. It would have been easy enough to open, but instead he found himself staring at the lid. There at last he found something recognizable: a ring of hands, each grasping the next. Though it meant nothing to him, he stared at it for a long time before he finally pushed off the lid.
A crystal disc lay in the center, pale in the darkness.
When he reached toward it, he felt promises stir within him. He knew with utter certainty that Melal's arrival would mean the death of many mansthein, and that those would only be the beginning. Yet they might be saved, Celivia and all the others. All he needed to do was reach out...
Slaten realized that he was not hearing any power speak into his mind, only his own thoughts. He had always known that the Legend proclaimed that all Deathspawn would die, and it would have been so easy to believe that it might bend. But the idea that he might whisper lies into his own mind sent him reeling away from those promises.
Without thought, Slaten drew his sword and raised it above the seal.
He had expected some great force to stand against him, some violence to counter his own. Instead all that struck him was the realization that he was a fool. The crude idiocy of thinking that he could destroy the disc by striking it with a weapon overwhelmed him. Imagining that he could destroy it was like a child boasting of throwing a ball over the moon.
With a deep breath, Slaten forced himself to bring his blade down against the seal. The edge struck with a dull sound, mockingly hollow. There was no reaction, the disc as unchanged as if he had never existed. He shuddered, his body cracking and breaking into shards as he sank to his knees, an irrelevant mote compared to the seal.
Slaten stared at his hands, surprised that they were not covered in cracks. All at once he felt immensely weary in a way that made all revelations of sein irrelevant.
Rising to his feet, Slaten stared at the seal, looming vast within the box. He was not certain how long he stared, but then he saw a light beside him.
"The seal." Melal touched his shoulder, but his eyes never once met Slaten's. He took slow steps toward the dais, dropping his torch, hands trembling as they stretched toward it.
Hadn't this been what they wanted? Slaten turned away before the blinding light arrived, telling himself that this would be for the best. No more would die over the seal and the mine's purpose would be removed. Perhaps the Maenhu could negotiate a new peace, the mansthein could turn aside from old ways, and the horror could move on.
Behind him, the tunnel lit brighter than the sun.
As he realized that the light only continued increasing, Slaten began to stumble forward, desperate to escape for reasons he could not explain. His mind was scorched white, though the light behind him was purer yet.
When he staggered into the open chamber, he saw that the Catai had sat up, holding his head. The Deathspawn stared at him, then something behind him, eyes growing wide. As Slaten passed, the Catai grabbed at his cloak. "Don't leave me here!"
Slaten pushed on until the cloak tore. Behind him, he heard the Catai cry out in awe and then go utterly silent. He could see the light at the edges of his vision now, coating every surface of the tunnels. Though he tried to run, the light clawed after him as he fled to the surface. Even if he outpaced it for a time, he could feel the earth itself growing brighter and brighter behind him.
In the final corridor he threw himself into a desperate sprint, wanting nothing more than to escape. His boot caught something and he slid to the ground. As he rose, he looked partially behind him and saw the corridor disappearing into the light. The furthest pair of torches he could see burst to life, burning with white fire.
Light marched down the corridor toward him, more pairs of torches blazing white, the brilliance so intense it completely erased the tunnel. As the light began to render his clothes gray, Slaten at last tore himself from it and ran, but he knew that nothing waited outside but the sun.
~ ~ ~
The Hero's attack had been brutal, butchering the last of the evacuating mansthein before Celivia could react. Yet Veron and Tani had stayed close to her, holding back the wild-eyed raiders. Celivia had feared for her band at first and was overjoyed when she saw them walking down the side of the mine. Laeri had loosely tied a rope around all of them and now carried them after her as prisoners.
No, not all of them. Celivia saw only Ghasfik, Fijn, Big Ragh, Huthur, and Puga. The rest of her band was dead.
Yet Laeri's feeble capturing of them seemed to keep the raiders at bay, at least for a time. They paced around the exterior of the mine, sniffing at the poison like animals, staring skyward as if hunting for more targets. None of them attacked, and when Laeri finally crossed the bridge to the central island, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"I... I can't believe that worked." Her eyes fearfully moved between the raiders. "Is Melal here? Why didn't he stop them from attacking?"
"What about the others?" Celivia startled the other woman when she approached, but she grabbed Laeri's shoulders. "Did they make it to safety?"
"I don't know. I told them to run to the errants, and uh, that one thought it would work." Laeri pointed to Ghasfik, but then her face fell. "But the last group that couldn't get out... those who fled immediately escaped, but those who lingered or tried to gather supplies... they're all dead."
Though Celivia intended to comfort Laeri, to her surprise Big Ragh stepped in, taking her hand gently. "You did everything you could, my Amios Laeri."
Laeri stared blankly at him and Celivia realized that the girl didn't speak a word of Futhik. The healer turned to Celivia in confusion. "He... keeps saying things. Did I do something wrong? Please tell him that I'm very sorry that I couldn't restore his eye."
"He's thanking you for the work you did." Celivia examined Big Ragh closer, only then noticing that one of his eyes was missing. There was an ugly scar under his brow, but the skin looked remarkably restored, as if it was an injury from a decade past.
"And I keep hearing him say 'Amios Laeri' - does he think that's my name?"
Amios meant something close to "beloved" and Celivia was not about to reveal that fact. After glaring at the members of her band just in case any of them understood Coran, she gripped Big Ragh's arm and pulled him away as she explained to Laeri. "He's just confused. Let me speak to him."
She led him to the other side of the island, ignoring all the eyes on her. Once they were a safe distance away, she hissed at him. "What are you doing?"
"You don't understand, Kaen." Big Ragh stared at her with a besotted grin on his face. "When that knife hit my eye, I thought I was dead. But then... her hands were so smooth and cool when she touched me, yet her power felt so warm. I woke up and saw her smiling face, nothing but goodness and purity..."
"Ragh." Celivia tightened her grip on his shoulder. "Are you telling me that you spent years talking about how disgusting humans are, then one heals you and suddenly you want to fuck her?"
"My Amios Laeri is nothing like the filthy humans! She's a... a spirit brought to life. Don't use such words about her! She could only make the sweetest of love..."
Despite herself, Celivia laughed. After so long carrying the suspicion of betrayal, then battling on the edge of a knife, she was exhausted. To have it all end in this utter absurdity was simply too much for her, and despite the gazes turning toward her, she laughed louder.
Then the sun came to earth and laughter died.
The light wrenched her gaze up and Celivia gasped as she saw that the sun overhead was surrounded by a halo:around the overwhelming white of the sun itself burned a perfect ring. It bled into the slightest hint of rainbows at the edges, but even those colors faded away as she gazed at the phenomenon, like a transcendent eye staring back at them.
All around the mine, human raiders stopped what they were doing and straightened, gazing upward. They stood as if the sun drew them, leaving them barely tethered to the ground. It was the sight of all those bloodied blades shimmering gloriously that finally broke Celivia from her trance.
"Celivia..." Tani stood beside her, eyes wide. "I don't know what this means, but I think... you need to go..."
"I agree, but look around us." Celivia didn't see any path by which they could escape, but she still gathered her band, pulling their attention from the sun. At last she had the five of them together, though most were utterly stunned by the sun overhead. It seemed to grow larger, threatening to encompass the sky.
Light shone from the northern tunnel and Celivia took an involuntary step back. Then she saw a dark figure, its silhouette almost overwhelmed by the outpouring of light. Slaten stumbled toward them through the shining mists, pushing his way up the side of the island until he collapsed near the top. Celivia and Tani went to him, asking what he had seen, but he only shook his head and withdrew his hand from his cloak.
In it, he held a voidlink. Wordlessly he offered it to her, and Celivia understood that this was her only chance. As her band moved closer, Tani grabbed her wrist and caught her gaze, eyes filled with concern.
"Can you take everyone away, Celivia? Where will it take you?"
"I have no idea." Celivia clenched her hand tighter around it. "But I can only try. And we need to go now."
"Go." Tani started to pull back, then suddenly leapt forward to embrace her. Celivia wrapped her arms around the human woman and squeezed her tight, longing to stay there, but she could feel the light burning at her back.
She wanted to embrace Slaten as well, but he remained on his knees, the light in his eyes burnt out.
As the light from the tunnel began to possess the mists, Celivia gathered her band at a safe distance and held the voidlink in both hands. It would test her limits to transport all of them, and she would be completely incapable of altering the destination. She snapped the silver spindle in half and the glorious light was replaced by the unknown.
~ ~ ~
The Hero strolled through the tunnels with a song on his lips and in his heart. As he did, he brought a joyous light to dark places, searing away the Deathspawn's blight. For too long, they had held this corner of the world in their clutches, but a new day had dawned.
Now that he was truly following his destiny, it had all been so easy, so simple. Only a little trouble along the way, then he had strolled into the mine and claimed the seal. There was no need for confusion or suffering, or even for battle. The Legend declared what would be, and it was.
Yes, finding the Sage had been the correct choice. The Hero smiled as he finally stepped into a new day.
It was a beautiful afternoon outside, the sun overhead glowing with the same light that burned within him. Those wisps of smoke that remained in the mine shone gloriously white in anticipation of what was to come. He saw his noble companions awaiting him, and his army of raiders beyond, falling to their knees as he approached. Yes, it was a glorious day.
Yet somewhere deep within him, the Hero understood that it would not always be so glorious. He was flush with power and clarity now that a second seal lay within him, but it would not last. Because the Legend had yet to truly blossom, the world's story needed mundane details. The Hero closed his eyes, seeking the meaning within him, and then he knew how best to use this light.
"What you have seen before this day has been nothing but a skirmish." As his companions turned hopeful eyes to him, the Hero smiled down upon them. "It is time to begin our war for the continent itself."
- End of Book 2 -
Epilogue
Sage Tuvano rarely slept atop the mountain, because he wasn't a damn fool. Having Aganomu carry him to the top was undignified, and walking up on his own hurt his knees something fierce. He had a perfectly functional bed in the village below, where his granddaughter could make him tea and he didn't have to worry about tripping and breaking his neck.
Yet that night, he woke to face the small chamber on Mount Tmil instead of his normal bedroom. As he gradually returned to the waking world, he remembered how troubled his dreams had been as of late. For all its inconveniences, he did feel more connected to the Legend atop the mountain.
As Tuvano sat up in his bed, he struggled to remember his dreams. Dreaming about the Legend was easy, far too easy. Nearly anyone with a connection to the Legend would soon find their nights filled with grandiose visions that could bring anyone to tears of awe.
The problem was, it was the same fucking dreams every night.
What distinguished true sages from those who merely repeated whatever everyone already knew was the ability to dream in detail. The flow of destiny actively refused specifics, always preferring to deliver profound and maddeningly vague truths. Only a few could see the fates of actual individuals instead of roles, and even gathering some of the best in his village, most couldn't manage much.
Tuvano found the flask beside his bed and took a long drink. Seeking the destinies of the Hero and his companions had required seasons of effort, which had been the real reason he'd sent the lad traipsing off after another seal. The effort had left him with only exhausted platitudes, unable to dream anything of substance, as he had not since his first vision to the very end of the Legend.
Until recently, when he woke with memories of doom receding on the edges of his mind. This night had been no different, yet Tuvano found himself rising. He didn't question his reactions, simply let himself follow the flow of destiny all around him.
It took him into the main room of the chamber, where he found his granddaughter rubbing her eyes. So much taller than she had been even a year ago, yet still so young. Suddenly overwhelmed with affection, Tuvano bent down and touched her hair. "Can't sleep, Julapa? Don't worry, you will grow used to the mountain air in time."
"I had a dream, grandfather. There were shadows approaching... but not simply a nightmare, they felt real. I saw them here, in this house. Grandfather... does this mean I...?"
As a grandfather, he should have told her that her dreams were only dreams. As a Sage, he should have been overjoyed that his granddaughter had begun to dream of the Legend at such a young age. Yet Tuvano found himself weeping. If he could take the gift from her...
No. If she saw the Legend, it was because she had a role to play. Tuvano smiled sadly at her. "You have slept your first night as a sage, Julapa. Alone, your vision might be only a nightmare, but I have also dreamt of shadows." Suddenly his dream returned to him, real as life, and fragments of figures standing in his house scattered across his vision.
"Grandfather?"
"I am sorry, Julapa. This night, it seems our dreams are not distant tales for distant lands. I have seen... that you must be kept safe. We must hurry." He extended a hand to her and she took it in complete trust. In truth, he had seen only the shadows, not any glimpse of her, and he could only imagine hope into that bleak vision.
As he guided Julapa back into his room, Tuvano moved aside his bed and opened the perfectly hidden door underneath. His granddaughter knew the hidden staircase, though she feared to walk it alone. He realized with an ache that her fear had been years ago. She was so much older now, bravely descending to the first steps, yet in his eyes she was still the child he'd lifted over his head.
"Where do I go, Grandfather?"
"The Legend will show you the way, girl. It may bring us together again, or it may not, but you must trust in it above all."
She nodded bravely and then continued down the stairs. Tuvano could not bear to see her glances back, so he quickly hid the door and returned his bed to its proper place. Then he walked to the central chamber and sat to wait.
For an hour he heard only the wind atop the mountain, but in time ragged breathing approached the doorway. When it opened, Aganomu staggered inside. Tuvano could see directly through a large hole in the man's chest, yet he did not bleed, as if the wound had been burned closed. The man was essentially dead and only his superlative mastery of the sein arts had allowed him to come this far.
"I couldn't do it, old man." Aganomu sagged down against the wall, showing less pain than bitterness. "She was... stronger than I thought..."
Aganomu of the Sotunn Mountains, the Sage's great protector, lay still and died.
Before the door could swing closed, a gray hand held it open.
The woman who entered burned with the vile evil of the Deathspawn, but she was like no Deathspawn the sages had ever dreamed. Many of their kind had gray skin, but the woman's was gray as slate, as if in denial of color. She wore unrelievedly gray robes and her hair was equally gray, leaving her an embodied color except for the red of her eyes.
As the door closed, he could see a sliver of other shadows beyond. One figure, or perhaps two. But then the crack disappeared and they were alone.
"They fought a war over me, you know." Tuvano shifted in his seat, no longer thinking of dreams, merely an uncomfortable old man. "You voidwalked here, didn't you? It doesn't seem fair to wait until all the armies leave and then simply step out the door to come for me."
"I owe a debt of gratitude to Zeitai Kreue, who allowed me to come so close." The Deathspawn had a high, unremarkable voice that could have been any woman's. She walked inside to stand opposite him and Tuvano only sighed at her theater.
"Kill me and get it over with."
"You misunderstand, Sage Tuvano. We hope that you will agree to work together with us. You are said to be the greatest of sages, so you must have seen the Legend truly. With your assistance, w-"
"Never!" Tuvano raised himself to his feet, finding some emotion within himself after all, like the last drops of water in a broken vessel. "You think that because I see the threads, the tapestry becomes less beautiful? The song duller because I understand the notes? Do you really think that seeing the Legend deeply could make me question its beauty?"
