Chapter Nine - Soul Stones

Several days had gone by since the attack by the lake in Eladin. They had been spending all their time the last several days getting their things moved in and put in place. There had been no issues whatsoever with Gaden’s wife, Haela. To his great surprise, and as Gaden had said in his message across the whisper stones, she had been thrilled with the opportunity to move to Aelwynn. Karina had been given a cabin on the third floor at the request of Elric. He argued that, while Karina was just a citizen, not currently working for Alldel, she had been directly targeted by Rhodhinia, and it was likely to presume they might target her again. Granting her a cabin inside the citadel was an easy way to keep her under protection.

Karina spent a lot of time questioning Adric about his feelings on the matters of both the legend and his royalty, even though he told her over and over that he did not want the position and was nothing less than frightened over the prospect of being the King of Alldel.

Ivar was making remarkable progress. The doctors were able to clean the wound and bandage it well, and he was improving daily. Thale would not let him run his regular missions, even though Ivar protested adamantly.

“Come on, I have to get back out there,” Ivar begged.

“I need you here, healthy, and recovering in a safe environment,” Thale said for what seemed the hundredth time. But he would at least allow Ivar to attend meetings and draw up strategies, which appeared to reduce the pressure Ivar was putting on Thale to let him back into the field.

Elric had not mentioned another word about Adric’s whisper stones. It seemed as though they were willing to follow the orders he gave them to the point of perfection. Adric did not push the issue. Nobody knew of the stones except for him and Gaden, not even Karina knew, and he wanted it kept that way. He didn’t want the stones subjected to all manner of scrutiny, and in Adric’s mind, their overall usefulness would be significantly diminished if everyone knew they existed.

Adric was happy to hear that Gaden agreed with him. He wondered if Gaden would want to tell Elric. Gaden and Elric had begun to get along well and seemed to be growing close to one another. But Gaden was still in agreement with Adric. If other people knew of the whisper stones, they would become increasingly less useful.

Gaden had also come to visit Adric alone a couple of nights before. This was a visit that Gaden had not wanted to pay Adric, but thought it was necessary. Gaden had decided it was time to talk with Adric about the future of their search. They talked it over well into the night. Adric wasn’t so keen to hear what Gaden had to say at first, but after some convincing, he began to see that Gaden’s point of view made pretty good sense.

This wasn’t something they could just abandon. Many things were much more important than any of them. This was something they needed to do. After talking for several hours, Adric and Gaden reached the decision to follow this to the end. There was too much going on here and too much at stake for them to feel justified in leaving all these people behind.

But the thing that really made Adric the happiest was a visit from Karina the night they returned from Eladin. It was well after nightfall when she came knocking at his door. Adric let her in, and they sat together in a chair in front of a warm fire.

“Gaden told me everything. You must be scared to death.” She placed her soft hand on top of his knee, and his heart suddenly seemed to reside somewhere in his neck.

“I don’t know what to think. I mean, what am I supposed to do? I may have royal blood, but I wasn’t raised to lead these people,” Adric could feel his temper rising. Nobody could understand what he truly felt. Karina said nothing, but Adric found that’s exactly what he was looking for. Instead, she began to pass her thumb back and forth against his knee, and she laid her head against his shoulder. He mustn’t allow his heart to beat like this, she was sure to feel it pounding against her.

“I mean the worst part is that this is what I came looking for, and now that I’ve found it, I want nothing to do with it.”

“I know.” She whispered somewhere below his right ear. “It’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

“Isn’t it? How would it look for me to walk out on all these people? All my life I’ve been a blacksmith, just making my way as an average person, and now I find out that I have to lead an army into war, and…” Karina put her arm around him and placed her hand against his cheek. Adric didn’t know what to say. But he was already feeling better. The touch of her hand was like medicine to him. He closed his eyes. Karina continued to hold him. She didn’t say anything to him, but he was okay with that. He felt her hand leave his knee, and a prickle of disappointment threatened to disturb him until he felt something soft and cool make contact with his own forefinger.

And then she was intertwining her fingers with his. As if he had been trained to react, without realizing the decision to do it, he opened his hand and took her into his own. She pulled him closer with the arm that was still around him, and he could hear her breathe as she held him close. Adric opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to look at her. He only wanted to see her holding him, but somehow, his body had other plans for him at that moment, and before he could capture the sight of her hand in his, he tasted the warm touch of her gentle lips.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her strong embrace pulled him in. Her soft hair found its way through his fingers as she drew nearer. Her chest was upon his, and for the briefest of moments, they were like one spirit, each following the other in perfect harmony, connected by the kiss that neither of them had intended to steal.

That night remained inside Adric’s mind, burned permanently as an event in which he was sure to be trapped for life. Not that he cared. In fact, his relationship with Karina had continued in such a way since that night’s events, and Adric couldn't be happier. What did it matter, really, if his role in life had changed? It amazed him how powerful the effect Karina seemed to have on him.

About two weeks after the attack by the lake, Adric had fallen asleep very late and had intended to sleep late the following morning, only to be thwarted by a sharp pounding against his cabin door much earlier than he had ever planned to be awake. He willed himself to rise from his bed, and he made to answer the door. He was greeted by a sandy-haired boy of about eighteen. The boy’s eyes grew exponentially at the sight of Adric.

“Yes, Daea?” Adric said, as the boy clearly wasn't going to speak first.

“You were asleep,” Daea whispered as though Adric’s previous state of consciousness was still at risk.

“I was asleep. However, I assure you that I am very much awake, now.” Daea blinked furiously, clearly searching for what to say next.

“Uh huh,” was all he managed.

“Was there something you needed to tell me?” Adric said.

“This.” Daea held out an envelope. Adric took it and read the front. Gaden’s name was printed neatly in black ink.

“Should I give this to Gaden?” Adric asked. Daea snapped to life.

“Oh, sorry sir! I'm supposed to do that. Here, this one is yours,” he traded envelopes with Adric, wished him well and left.

Adric shut the door behind Daea, slit the envelope open, and sat in the chair in front of the fireplace. It contained a very heavy and yellowed roll of paper. He held the page open, to find a very elegant script written across the page. He did not recognize the writing. Its elegance was unnatural.

Adric,

I am delighted to hear that you have found your way to Aelwynn. There is so much that I wish to discuss with you. You can’t begin to know how long I have waited to speak with you, and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I have many answers for you. I have answers to many questions you have sought for many years. I ask only that you join me in Thale’s office around mid-day today. You will doubt me by the time you finish reading this letter if you do not doubt me already. But I promise you will not be disappointed. Tell nobody about your plans.

I look forward to our meeting.

Yours, most sincerely.

There was no signature. Well, Adric thought, the writer was right about one thing. He certainly did have his doubts. Adric didn’t much like the idea of going to meet a stranger who failed to see the need to introduce himself, but the thought of possibly finding some answers was overwhelming to him. It didn’t take him long to decide that this was a chance he would not let go. And besides, the meeting was in Thale’s office. There couldn’t be any harm in that. But he would be taking the whisper stone, just in case.

Adric tried to busy himself around the cabin that morning to pass the time, but he was too distracted by his thoughts. Instead, he cleaned up and dressed in his Alldelan uniform, the stars on his collar seemed to glare at him as though taunting him.

When the time came for him to leave, he pocketed the whisper stone and left his cabin, thinking he had done wiser things in the past. Adric walked to the end of the corridor and turned left. The tremendous circular room was to his right, and there was a staircase a few yards in front of him. He passed by several people, each of them giving him a casual bow of the head as they met. Adric said nothing but proceeded to the staircase. He descended to the fifth floor and turned right.

Not far from the staircase there was an archway set off by two torches on either side. He entered and knocked on a large wooden door at the end of a narrow hallway.

“It’s open,” came a voice from beyond the door. Adric took the iron handle and pushed the door open. He was pleased to see Thale sitting behind a wide wooden desk covered with papers. But standing to Thale’s left was another figure he did not recognize. He held a strange presence. He looked young, but at the same time, he seemed as old as imagination would allow. He had the cleanest, whitest hair Adric had ever seen. His eyes were ice blue, and he was several inches taller than Adric. The man wore a pure white robe, tarnished only at the tail which dusted the floor at his feet. He wore boots, polished and clean, his left hand was adorned with a large diamond ring whose band was a strand of pure silver metal, twisted elegantly around his third finger.

But it was the item clutched securely in the man’s right hand which caught Adric’s attention. If he didn’t know better, he would have said this was the Staff of Rhodhinia, but it couldn’t be. He knew it to be blue and topped with a sapphire.

This staff was as white as the man’s robe and crowned with a diamond. It stood shoulder height to the man. The same elegant, twisted carvings wrapped themselves around the diamond which sat in the top of the staff, and subtle black threads wrapped their way around the staff’s shaft. It was stunningly beautiful and seemed to emit a soft glow that illuminated the man’s presence.

“Thanks for coming, Adric.” Thale rose from his seat. Adric tore his eyes from the stranger.

“I would like you to meet someone,” he pointed to the other man. “This is King Amos of Soceria.” Instinctively, and with a plunging sensation within his stomach, Adric placed a knee on the floor and bowed before the king. Adric had always heard tales of the unparalleled wisdom and power this king carried but knew nobody to have ever met him.

“Rise, dear man,” Amos spoke. “Do not bow to me. You are my equal.” This thought, at least, was laughable. Adric rose. “Adric, son of Cassian, descendant of King Wystan,” Amos said. The way he said it made the title sound poetic. He smiled and stepped forward. He stroked Adric’s cheek gently as though he were a long-lost friend. “So long have I waited to meet you, my dear man. When Thale wrote to me and told me everything, I hastened at once from my palace, and rode for Alldel.”

“But, why…” Adric was cut off.

“I shall explain. Have a seat.” Amos motioned for Adric to take the chair behind him. He did so. “Some six hundred years ago, your grandfather reigned over this very nation.” Adric noticed Thale was paying no attention whatsoever. “King Wystan was the greatest king the world has ever seen. He was wiser than any who have ever lived and just as brave. Wystan stood for what was right, always over what was easy, or even what may have been desired. There were kings and wise men in his day who would have thought themselves to be above him. In my own estimation, they would have been wrong. King Wystan did not acquire the public fame and wealth that so many others had done in his day, so he did not gain the respect of other nations that so many others had done. Many people seemed to think this made him weak. But they couldn’t have been more wrong. This common misconception is what made him so unique, so powerful, and so wise. He did not need the approval of others to make his decisions. He knew what needed to be done.

King Wystan accomplished much that others had not. Many would have said that he was out of his league when compared to other more accredited nations, as some would have put it. Six hundred twenty-three years ago, Alldel was at its peak. They were mighty, and they were rich. Many reserved a special kind of distaste only for Alldel, but no one could deny its success. Wystan was their king, and its citizens were proud.

But this peaceful and prosperous period was doomed to the ages of despair, for there was another king in the land. King Seevus, of the nation of Rhodhinia, was just as cunning, and just as powerful, but far more ruthless. The Rhodhinians despised the Alldelans. Rhodhinia owed Alldel an enormous sum of money. This debt was so high that I doubt they would have ever repaid it.

But then, hope came to the Rhodhinians. One of the Rhodhinian miners discovered something so unique, it would change the world. It was a sapphire, larger and more beautiful than any gem ever seen. It had a very unearthly quality to it. Today, of course, we do know of them. We call them soul stones,” Adric had never heard them called this, and had always suspected they were just myth, but he allowed Amos to continue.

King Seevus heard of this discovery and had it examined. To his delight, he found that this gem was far more than a stone of beauty. This sapphire was a stone of great power. At last, Seevus saw a way out of his debt. Some believed he would offer the stone to Alldel as a peace offering and a way to settle their debt. This would have made sense, Alldel was a reasonable nation. To offer your debtor an object of such immense rare value as a gesture of peace would change the fortunes of both Rhodhinia and Alldel. Seevus, however, power hungry, and full of spite for King Wystan saw, not an opportunity for peace and prosperity, but an opportunity for power and domination. What better weapon could be offered to anyone? In Seevus’ mind, this made him superior to the other monarchs of the day. So, what need was there for peaceful negotiations?” Amos ended his question with disgust in his voice.

“This stone presented an unimaginable level of power to him. Through the stone, he found he could channel energy and bend it to his own will. This means of control rendered him a truly fearsome being. All he needed was a means to wield the power of the stone, and to his delight, just such an opportunity presented itself to him.” It was here that Amos finally brought his story to a halt. Adric, who had been looking down into his folded hands, looked up. Amos had lost his charismatic stature. He looked tired and worn.

“So, he succeeded?” Adric asked. “He built the Staff of Rhodhinia, and that’s why the war was so terrible?” Amos said nothing for a moment, but then he looked directly at Adric. There was a kind of fury burning inside his tired eyes.

“No,” Amos said with adamant disgust. “The Staff of Rhodhinia was powerful, yes. But the Staff of Rhodhinia could never have caused the destruction that he inflicted on the world. No, Seevus did not stop with the staff. Seevus set out for something much more than what was found hundreds of feet below his nation. He believed that this was just a sample of the power available to him and so, set out in search of a force that was sure to make him a ruler marked as universally superior to all.

Some might have said that he was out of his mind to expect anything greater than what he already had. Some would have said that he had no hope to secure anything greater than the Staff of Rhodhinia, or Heartsbane, we should call it. But when you are as sinisterly motivated as he was to find more, and when you are as powerful and as resourceful as he is, you are bound to find what you seek. And so, he did.”

“He found something worse than the staff?” Adric interrupted.

“Well, I guess it depends on your perspective. I would hesitate to say it’s worse. I would be more inclined to say that he found something more powerful than the staff.” Adric cut his eyes, trying to understand, but Amos went on.

“You need to understand that there is nothing inherently evil about the magic that made the staff. The staff is what it is because Seevus poured himself into it. I know it’s hard to understand now, but trust me, in time, you will see.” Adric nodded.

“So, yes. Seevus found a power greater even than Heartsbane. It was this weapon that wrought destruction on the world hundreds of years ago. And it is that weapon that has kept Seevus alive these many years.” Adric looked up.

“Yes, he is still alive. He cannot die unless he is slain.”

“But I thought Roman…”

“Yes, Roman is working for Seevus. But Roman is only a puppet. I believe that Seevus has since passed on the Staff of Rhodhinia to Roman, knowing that he does not require the use of the staff anymore. And, while Roman is certainly a masterful enemy, I’m afraid he’s only a small barrier we must cross before we reach our true foe.” Amos sat back in his chair and crossed his legs.

“How do you know this?” Adric asked. For indeed, not even his own book of legends contained such a vast wealth of information. Adric got the impression that Amos was surveying him intently before he spoke again.

“I know, because…” He paused. Adric noticed that even Thale had stopped working long enough to look up. “I know because I was there for the first days. I was there when the Staff of Rhodhinia was forged. I was there when Seevus tore the world apart at the seams. I was there when he annihilated the armies of Alldel and Lorlea with ease. I was there when he blasted your grandfather from the skies. When he rallied an army of the dead, when he wrought terror, and pain, and death the world over, when he destroyed all that is good, tore families apart, set friend against friend and forsook all that is pure; I was there,” he ended with sick disgust on his tongue and shut his eyes.

“The Staff of Soceria has kept me alive these many years, just as the Staff of Rhodhinia kept him alive. I vowed to remove him from this world the night your grandfather died, along with countless others.” They sat in silence for quite some time. Adric wanted to say something to break the silence, but he couldn’t think what to say. So many years he sought this knowledge, and now it was here, but the questions would not come. And then Amos spoke once more.

“I have the ability to show you the day that changed the world,” he said. Adric looked at him confused. Amos lowered the top of the staff to Adric’s forehead. “See it from King Wystan’s own eyes, and let your doubts dissolve,” Amos said. He touched the tip of the staff to Adric’s forehead, and Adric felt his body go rigid, seized as though by an electric current. The room around him disappeared.