The Conquest of Kiynan

Kayla sat huddled up against the ice ship’s side. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest, rocking gently back and forth while frightening but customary images swirled in her mind. Marax and the others were taking turns rowing the ship, and had asked her to rest. There would be no rest for Kayla however. No semblance of peace would come to her.

Despite their stalwart rowing, the magicians were managing only very slow progress. The ship seemed to barely creep along through the opaque mist. The oars splashing in the water and the grunts of the rowers were the only sounds to be heard.

Abron came over to Kayla and sat down beside her. He said nothing, but only regarded her sadly. Kayla looked over into his cool grey eyes, feeling a small comforting warmth. He extended his arm and put it around her shoulders, pulling her to him. She threw her arms around him and rested her head against his chest.

“I still want to cry, but I feel as though I cannot anymore. My body has no tears left to shed.”

“Your loss is great Kayla, but together we’ve accomplished something of incredible importance. We had feared that it would turn out to be impossible, but we did it. We’ve stopped the growth of Daimin’s army. No new forces will come to his aid. Now, it will be possible to defeat him.”

“Thalamir always knew he had been born for some great purpose. I used to call him Thalamir the Chosen because it made him happy. Well, as happy as Thalamir ever got. Now, he’s finally found that purpose. He helped save the world, and made good our escape. My escape. I miss him terribly.”

“You will see him again some day. You will meet again in the spirit world.”

“Along with Banakel,” she said bitterly, her sadness abruptly changing into anger. She raised her head and stared accusingly into Abron’s eyes. “We killed Banakel, and yet there she was on the shore, egging the demons on!” Kayla said furiously, as though Abron was somehow responsible.

“It is only in the land of Lethe that she could appear in our world though. She is imprisoned—”

“But she was imprisoned before! What if I can’t drain Daimin’s emotions?”

“Then he too will return to imprisonment in the spirit world…”

“So what will stop him from returning again? And summoning all these demons, and killing all these people?”

“We will once again have to be vigilant,” replied Abron evenly, letting Kayla’s temper run its course.

Kayla broke free of Abron’s arms and threw her back up against the cool side of the ship once again. She crossed her arms stubbornly and looked away from the Necromancer. The two sat in silence.

Marax and Lucia came over to them, while Taul and Dessa took their turn at the oars. Lucia sat in front of Kayla, while Marax stood beside her, staring absently out into the thick fog.

“I am sorry for your loss Kayla,” said Marax sadly. “It should have been I that forced the worm away. I should never have left that sacrifice to a commoner.”

“Thalamir knew that Kayla and the rest of us needed you to row us away from the beast, and that we would never reach home without your endurance at the oars,” soothed Abron.

“You still haven’t told me what happened to everyone else during the battle,” said Kayla quietly. “What happened to Chyryl?”

“She was overwhelmed,” replied Marax evenly. “When the worm broke free of the temple, Chyryl, Dessa and I found ourselves completely isolated from the rest of the group. We knew we would never find anyone in the chaos, and we knew we wouldn’t survive for long among the demons, outnumbered as we were. So we fought our way back the way we had come. We hoped we’d be able to find our way back to the ship, where we’d be able to regroup. There were just so many of them,” Marax shook his head gravely. “Chyryl had been tired by that incredible blizzard she’d used to push us out of the Crystal Tower. As we were running, two skivers pounced on her and she collapsed. Dessa and I got to her as quickly as we could and destroyed the little monsters, but it was too late. Chyryl was too badly injured to even stand. I was about to… end her pain, but she died before I had even raised my sword.”

Kayla imagined the whole scene as though she had witnessed it herself. Kayla had been quickly growing fond of the Sorceress. Now, she would never get a chance to know her better.

“What happened after that?” Kayla asked, wanting to let it all go and hoping that knowing all the details would help her find some measure of closure.

“Dessa and I got clear of the demons and got deep into the mist. We walked along, hoping we were getting closer to the ship. We were lost almost immediately. We figured we’d eventually be found by the demons and that would be it, but luckily, Abron and Lucia came across us first and led us back to the ship.”

Kayla looked over at Abron who nodded absently.

“Lucia and I were fighting alongside Thalamir until we were cut off by a group of skeletons,” he said distantly. “We tried to make our way over to you and Thalamir, but Lucia was knocked unconscious by a skeleton’s hammer. I was able to carry her into the mist and lose the pursuing demons. When Lucia had recovered enough strength to move on, we went searching for the others. We came across Marax and Dessa, but could not locate you. We hoped you were with Taul, because we knew he would be able to navigate through the mist back to the ship. So we waited for you on the shore. Fearing the worst, we made ready to escape in case the demons found us.”

“We were all relieved to see you unharmed Kayla,” added Lucia with a faint smile.

Kayla forced a weak smile in response. She now knew the details of the battle, and the fate of each of her companions. Her thoughts turned to all those who had fallen at Castle Malice. So much death…

“And all of it begun by idle curiosity…” Kayla sighed sadly.

“What do you mean?” inquired Lucia.

“When I was in Danyul’s, Emander’s and Banakel’s minds, the Conjurer’s minds that is, it was as though all of their thoughts became my own. I knew everything they knew. Those thoughts are fading, but even now I remember some of them. I found out that Daimin’s return was made possible by a Necromancer novice named Klyst.”

“Dessa, Taul, leave the oars for a moment and come here,” called Abron.

Instantly, the magicians were all crowded around Kayla, listening intently as she recounted her stolen recollection of Daimin’s return to Ornland.

“Well,” she began, struggling to piece together the fragmented memories, “it had been so many years since the four Conjurers had died, that they no longer had any real sense of time. They often wandered through the areas of Lethe where they could cross into the physical world, because they found they could maintain their emotions more easily there. In the spirit world, their emotions tended to fade slowly away, and they knew that if they let their emotions go completely, they would move beyond the spirit world, into somewhere else.

“Anyway, while they were drifting through an accessible area of the physical world, they came across a young man wearing the grey robe of the Necromancer order. He approached them, and seemed to recognize immediately that they were of a fallen House. He was eager to learn about forbidden magic. He was frustrated at his elders for telling him to ignore those other magics and focus only on necromancy. Daimin seized on the novice. It was as though the Conjurer had found a kindred spirit in the young man. The novice stayed in Lethe and learned from the Conjurers, as they eagerly taught him all they knew. Klyst was an apt pupil and it was not long before he was ready to attempt his first conjuration spell. He summoned Daimin’s spirit out of the spirit world into the physical world. But Daimin had not taught him everything, and as he emerged from the spirit world, he used Klyst’s body as his vessel, possessing the novice and conquering his spirit. With his new body, Daimin gathered scraps of human and animal bodies preserved by the bogs, whose owners had accidentally stumbled into Lethe over the decades and died in its mists. He then conjured his followers into the decaying flesh, giving them a new life in the physical world.”

The magicians turned to look at Abron. Marax and Dessa were obviously angry, as House Despair had clearly played a role in aiding Daimin’s return, however inadvertently. Although, mixed with their anger was also pity. As furious as Marax and Dessa felt, they knew the Necromancers were doubly angry and disappointed in their order for allowing one of their own to have helped bring about so much suffering. No one spoke for some time, as each sought to master the unwelcome emotions inside them. Finally, Marax spoke to break the tension.

“Can you remember anything else, Kayla?”

“After all that, they set about creating an army of demons and from there we all know what happened. But there is something else, before they met with Klyst…” Kayla furrowed her brow as she tried to force herself to remember. “It seems the harder I try to remember, the more the memories slip away,” she said with frustration. “And yet, I remember something. I think Daimin contacted someone else in the physical world. Or maybe it was that person who contacted Daimin. Either way, I’m sure Daimin had managed to cooperate with someone else, not long before Klyst came along. I think… No, I can’t remember anything more. Already, everything I told you seems wrong. I just can’t remember…”

Kayla gave up struggling with the fading memories, and looked up at the others. The magicians seemed pensive, considering the implications of what she had revealed to them.

“Do you think there is a traitor in one of the Houses? Someone in league with Daimin?” asked Dessa of no one in particular.

“To what end?” mumbled Marax.

“Power. Although, the only power they would have would be what Daimin allowed them to have, which would be little enough,” added Taul distantly.

“I wonder how they did it,” whispered Kayla.

“Did what?” asked Marax abruptly.

“How they managed to end up as spirits when seemingly no other Conjurers did,” replied Kayla, snapping back to the present.

“Suicide,” answered Abron. “Daimin and his closest followers committed suicide just as Cadvin came for them, during the great battle. The Augurs found the bodies lying in a circle around a pentagram painted on the floor of their temple. They each held a long dagger, which they had stabbed through their hearts. In doing so, they died with their full emotional energy, which sustained them in the spirit world through the years.”

Several long moments passed while all aboard the small ice ship stood or sat in quiet contemplation, thinking of all that had transpired and inevitably, of their friends who had fallen. At last, Abron spoke in a chagrined tone.

“We were ten who set upon this journey, now only six return. We leave four friends behind, friends who were more than mere companions, but courageous, noble, heroic figures who will live on, not only in our memories, but also in the hearts of every man, woman and child who love virtue. They gave their lives to aid us in our cause, the greatest cause our world has ever known. They were pillars of light in our darkest hour. Though they have left our world, every day of every person’s life, free from Daimin’s tyranny, is a monument to their sacrifice,” Abron paused. “Now, please excuse me while I check to see if a response to our news is waiting for me in the spirit world.”

Kayla averted her gaze from Abron as he moved to the rear of the ship. She gazed ahead of them, into the west. She stared around her at the Shrouded Sea; the mist had thinned a little since their last voyage across it. The air stung her with a salty tang, but no tears fell this time. Kayla felt numbness permeating her body. She had no tears left. She thought of her father, pictured him strolling along the waterfront of Freshwater. Her thoughts changed to Thalamir, and she saw again her last image of him, atop the colossal demon, but unafraid. The two most important people in her life were gone. She was alone now.

She glanced back at the magicians, Master Abron the Grey, Master Marax the Red, Dessa the Amber, Lucia the Grey and Taul the Grey. Perhaps she was not so alone. She felt certain that every one of her companions would unflinchingly risk their lives for her, as she would for them. Not alone, after all. But great danger still remained ahead. Daimin’s army was still numerous and powerful, whereas the strength of the Houses…

Their small ship was returning to Castle Malice, but what awaited them there? Had the strength of the Houses been sufficient to hold Daimin, without the help of the Fled? Kayla mused for a while longer before Abron returned with news.

“It would seem that Daimin’s forces repeated their attack on Castle Malice in our absence. He was repulsed, although losses were light on both sides. In Sasha’s opinion the attack was meant to wear out and demoralize our forces rather than to actually take the castle, in which case it succeeded. With the additional damage the castle suffered, it will be impossible to hold against another assault,” he finished grimly.

As the others shuffled around awkwardly, Kayla closed her eyes, seeking inner peace. Calm washed over her. As in her dreams many times before, she felt herself transported to another place. This time, however, she was not alone. Her companions were with her, wary, expecting an attack from anywhere, at any moment. She looked around and could see why. Castle Malice lay in ruins around them. The mauled and desecrated bodies of magicians and conscripted soldiers lay strewn about, hardly more than charred masses of meat. Demons had fallen here as well, as was testified to by the fragments of rotting flesh and bone in disorderly heaps. The Castle had been ravaged, fragments of black stone and shattered ice littered the courtyard. Yet, already repairs were under way. Kayla watched in horror as hundreds of common folk toiled under the whips of skeletal demons, carrying stones, piling them and cementing them into place.

Kayla fled the ruins, her companions close on her heels. The countryside blurred as they ran, faster than any runner could. Within moments, they stood outside the Hall of Ecstasy. Screaming and clashing of metal could be heard from where they stood. The outer walls crawled with skivers, and Kayla could smell the stench of burning flesh. She looked up suddenly, just in time to see an enormous thrane descending upon her, its jaws open wide and shrieking.

Her eyes snapped open, and she was staring into the mist once again. She stood up abruptly, and turned to face the magicians, her eyes glowing blue. They all looked up at her slowly, their expressions questioning.

“Castle Malice is lost,” she declared solemnly, “and we won’t reach the Hall of Ecstasy before it falls. We must make our way to the Bright Keep, and we must hurry.”

The others exchanged brief uncertain looks, then Abron and Marax headed sternly toward the oars. Kayla merely held up her hands to stop them. She walked to the bow of the ship and placed her hands on the railing. She closed her eyes and let her calmness wash over her again and again, feeling it spiralling outward, encompassing the entire ship. Finally, with great concentration, she pulled upward on the ship, feeling it rock and sway as it lifted clear of the water. She heard the other magicians gasp and whisper among themselves, desperately trying not to disturb her lest she should let them fall. With another powerful surge of emotional energy, Kayla heaved the ship forward and sent it flying through the air at a great pace. She could feel the wind gusting past her and had to hang on tight to the railing, but her calmness did not waiver and her course held true.