A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 83
She regarded him silently, then lowered her eyes. "I had hoped."
"Your kind can only bring one thing, Deathspawn." He sagged back down into his chair. "Do not offend me with your false offers. The Dark Lord sent you to kill me, did he not? Too cowardly to finish the job himself."
"The Dark Lord keeps his own counsel and leaves most decisions to us." A flicker of annoyance appeared on the Deathspawn's face and Tuvano felt anger at seeing such a mundane emotion. "Attempting to speak with him is most frustrating. We had hoped that with your dreams, we-"
"You cannot have my dreams."
"I am sorry that it has come to this." She began walking toward him, reaching into the sleeve of her robe and revealing a thin needle. He could have struggled with her, but the shadows she cast were becoming familiar and he knew that it was pointless.
Tuvano expected death, but instead she only pricked the veins at his wrists and neck. As she drew back the needle, he saw that it glistened darkly with something that was not his blood, and he felt a chill begin to spread through his body as his own heart betrayed him.
"Before you die, you will tell me what you know."
"You want to hear the story again, do you?" Tuvano chuckled. "All know of the Legend, of the battle between-"
"If you are the greatest of sages, you must have seen the deepest. We will have those insights." The gray Deathspawn regarded him with a strange sort of pity. "This is your chance to make a difference instead of telling the story everyone already holds in their hearts. Telling us what you know would be an act of compassion."
"Do you think I fear death so much?"
"Perhaps not. But if you do not cooperate, I will tell Zeitai Kreue to kill everyone in your village. They will all die slowly and in pain."
Tuvano had been content to die in the Legend, but the thought of their deaths drew him back. Always the details, like a beautiful window becoming shards of glass. He thought of Julapa, climbing alone down the staircase, but pushed her from his mind. "Your kind are liars. You've already killed everyone in the village because you fear us. Finish me and be done with it."
"I suppose that the truth of it no longer matters to you. Now, tell me everything, from the beginning."
Though he told himself that he would not give her another word, as the gray seeped through his body, the words dribbled out of him, then began to flood. It had been so long since he had truly shared everything from his dreams, fearing to shake the other sages, yet the Deathspawn simply drew every word into that surfaceless gray.
He told her what fragments he had seen of the Hero's trials and triumph. He spoke of the great battles against the Zeitai, both those who existed and those yet to come. He revealed every fragmentary path leading to the final battle between light and darkness. As his head drooped and the weariness finally claimed him, he settled back with nearly all his words spent.
The Deathspawn left without a single word, and that was his final triumph. Because he had not told her about his furthest dream, the one he had never dared utter to another soul.
Light and dark would clash in a final battle, yes, and they were surrounded by so many swirls of gray. Beyond that glorious ending, he saw chaos and violence, but a child could have expected such results. What truly troubled him was the memory of something yet more terrible, dreamt only once, a void that was neither light nor dark, that threatened far worse than death.
As Sage Tuvano breathed his last, he wondered if it would have been better to speak of his final dream.
X X X
Thank you for reading my book! The third in the series, tentatively titled The Unnecessary Victory, is currently mostly written and is scheduled for a 2022 release after editing. If you've read the series this far, I'd be very grateful if you could support it with a review!
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Acknowledgments
I broke my record for number of early readers by a wide margin, so this could easily become unwieldy. If you hadn't yet given me permission to include your name/pseudonym or I omitted you, just let me know!
Thanks to my alpha readers: Larissa Cardoso, Yu Chiu, Clayton Collier-Cartaino, Cathy Davis, Kevin Jia, Adam Johnston, John Isaro, Jonathan L, Liam McBrien, Babatunde Mosha, Kathleen N, Sara Nguyen, V Wu, and the anonymous TLS Squad.
Thanks to my beta readers: John Bierce, N Daai, Steven Matinde, Bryan Ogren, Rinaldo Valgranaire, Prisca Zhou, athos00000, and the anonymous SC Squad.
Special thanks to Juan Songco and Kalin Popov for the concept art. The maps were drawn by Cornelia Yoder, Tiffany Munro, and Ryan Thomason. The cover was drawn by Miha Brumec.
Glossary
Alfis: A particular mansthein form, similar to a Towd Catai, but with fur across the body. Used almost exclusively by Feras mansthein.
ashweed: A relaxant herb commonly smoked across the Chorhan Expanse.
aurochs: A beast of burden domesticated by the Corans and used across the Chorhan Expanse.
behemoth: A beast of burden domesticated in the Maenhu.
Benighted Fool: The highest rank within a Fool order.
Bersk: A sub-species of mansthein, artificially created to serve as shock troops.
bicorn: A common domesticated animal across many parts of the world.
bloodsteel: A metal forced with advanced sein techniques, almost solely in the Maenhu.
capra: A vicious semi-domesticated animal. Raised for its meat across the world.
Catai: Both a rank and a specific form of the mansthein.
childbane: An herb used by mansthein women to prevent or purge pregnancy. Toxic in large quantities, with mixed effects on health.
cockatrice: A semi-domesticated animal raised for its meat across the world.
Deathspawn: An informal name for the mansthein military, or at times all mansthein.
dragon: A wild beast found in deserts across the world.
duusha: A general name for several species of wild animals that live on the Chorhan Expanse. Though they prefer to flee danger, they can be dangerous when cornered.
errant: An armored warrior of the Maenhu.
Farwalk: A rite of passage in many Rhen tribes, in which an adolescent leaves the tribe to return with insight and growth.
Feinan: One of the three major sub-species of mansthein. Also a title that generally implies disrespect.
fhoka: An herbal drink that can be taken in many forms, native to the Maenhu.
Fool: A title in the Maenhu referring to warriors who do not follow an errant order.
Futhik: The language family of the mansthein.
game of beasts: A simple hand-based game featuring hand positions representing manticore, behemoth, and dragon. Popular with children, but also among warriors as a test of speed.
Gant: A particular mansthein form, similar to a Towd Catai, but leaner and with bone spikes. Pioneered and still primarily used by the Laenan.
Greav: A particular mansthein form, notable for its rock-like body. Obtained only through artificial rebirth, not naturally.
Ignorant Fool: An advanced rank within a Fool order.
Ilankril: A rare mansthein form, possible only for Catai.
Kelfaa: A tribe of Rhen.
khanhorn: A large beast native to Teralanth.
knifegale: A predatory bird native to the Sotunn Mountains.
Laenan: One of the three major sub-species of mansthein. Also a title for the same.
Lanhao: A language spoken by several Rhen tribes, including the Lanoo.
Maenhu: The northernmost third of the continent of Breilin, a culturally unified region composed of the nations of Espal, Portant, and Wahleen.
manticore: A dangerous wild beast native to many deserts across the world.
mansthein: One of the world's dominant species.
methu: The body's channels for sein, not commonly understood.
Nelee: A large Rhen tribe, from which Tani hails.
Nelhae: A language spoken by several Rhen tribes, including the Nelee.
Neyet: A simple board game played in the Sotunn Mountains.
Oken: A people living in the west of the Chorhan Expanse, from which Slaten hails.
Okeni: The language of the Oken.
ombo: A small furry animal native to cold regions.
rebirth: A mansthein life process that radically alters their nature.
Reili: The language spoken across the Maenhu.
Rhen: An ethnic group that includes a large number of different tribes across the Chorhan Expanse.
steelwood: A rare and extremely hard form of wood. Used for currency in the Maenhu.
sein: The force of one's personality, experiences, and beliefs.
Seinan: One of the three major sub-species of mansthein. Also a title that generally implies respect.
seincoal: Despite the name, actually a form of technology producing a coal that will burn intensely until it exhausts itself. Generally too expensive for use as heat or light, but common in warfare.
seinshock: A condition that occurs when an individual encounters a traumatizing experience with their sein. It has many degrees and variations.
seinrage: A rare technique used only by certain mansthein.
Seirios: A particular mansthein form, traditional among the Seinan. Unlike many Catai-ranked forms, this one does not change the individual's appearance significantly.
Shiil: An old and subtle board game played across the world, notably on the continent of Fareshel or among the Oken.
soulsteel: A metal forced with advanced sein techniques, in particular from the Maenhu.
Tarantril: A rare mansthein form, possible only for Catai.
Telnaa: A tribe of Rhen.
Towd: A common mansthein form for Catai, notable for muscle and iron skin. The artificial enhancement of an old rebirth form.
voidlink: A physical object capable of replicating the arts of a voidwalker, taking a trained user across space in a moment.
voidwalker: Either anyone trained to travel across the void, or the division of the mansthein military dedicated to voidwalking.
Wooden Judge: A device used in the Maenhu to measure a warrior's understanding of sein and to grant rankings.
Yenith: An ancient board game played across the world, with many variants.
Yevee: A tribe of Rhen.
Zeitai: The title held by several elite warriors who stand above all mansthein.
Zihaa: An extinct tribe of Rhen.
Sarah Lin, A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2)
