The Fenimeldiyaan: Stolen Time - Chapter 2

For some reason, whenever Terra Roland of Corttann tried to do the right thing, it always ended up blowing up in his face. For instance, his attempt to coerce a sorcerer to send himself and Lizzy Drenlin after the abducted Queen River had resulted in them both ending up in some kind of destroyed city, running for their lives from guards who were out for blood. Lizzy wasn’t much help; the crowded city streets were overloading her mind, and Terra was too weak to use his magic block to help her.

They sprinted through the city, tripping over rubble and cracks in the ground. The guards kept right on their tail. Terra cursed, out of breath and with a stitch in his side. Lizzy spoke for the first time since they’d arrived. “Wh-what do they want?” she panted.

The distraction cost them, and they both tripped at the same time. Terra crashed to the ground and Lizzy landed on top of him, driving what little breath he had left out of his lungs. The soldiers surrounded them as Lizzy moved off of Terra, pointing their weapons at the two of them. “Lord Set will be pleased,” one of them commented.

“Leave them alone!” Terra felt the explosion of magic and covered Lizzy instinctively. There was no need — it rippled over them with no effect but blew the guards away. Terra stayed where he was, trying to regain his breath.

A young man knelt beside him, wearing filthy noble’s clothes and with a sword at his side. A silver eye and a gold eye winked out at him from beneath the boy’s curly hair. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Terra nodded. “Thanks to you, I think. I’m Terra Roland, and this is Lizzy Drenlin. Where are we?”

The boy sat back on his heels. “I’m Joseph. That’s my sister, Ilise,” he said, pointing to a girl who was keeping her distance. She waved shyly. Joseph then proceeded to sigh. “As to where we are … you’re in Zor, the capitol city of Vordelle. Or what’s left of it.” Joseph extended a hand and helped the Corttanians to their feet. “Come with me. We can’t have Set catching you. I’ll try and find you something to eat.”

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“You’re sure this is the future?” Merlin Emrys questioned the small blond elf in front of him. They sat across from each other in the remains of an inn. The entire left side of the building was caving in, yet people still came as if it were perfectly normal.

The elf, Basil, nodded. “I’m sure. My friends and wife were kidnapped, and I recruited a sorceress to translocate me here. Instead, I find myself eighteen years in the future, where everyone I know in Colnia is gone. I believe there’s some sort of a spell over Meldin, bringing anyone translocating in to the future.”

“That would explain Lana and me,” Merlin said, motioning to where his young niece was performing to the patrons of the inn. She didn’t understand the concept of “blending in”. “I was entrusted as a member of the Inner Circle and came to investigate strange occurrences of magic. Now I’m blocked off from where I came from.”

Basil rolled a white gemstone filled with light magic, from what Merlin could tell, around the table. “As am I. Not that I would leave without determining what happened here.” He raised golden eyes to Merlin. “Shall we form an alliance, then? I trust you, Merlin Emrys.”

“I believe that would be best,” Merlin agreed, shaking the elf’s hand. “Now … I believe we should seek out what remains of the former ruling class here.”

“Agreed,” Basil said. “But we should eat first. Keep up our strength.”

Merlin nodded. “I am happy with that arrangement.”

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The Vordellan clothes felt strange on Andreas.  The tunic was a little too large for him and the breeches were tighter than he was accustomed to.  Also he hated having to wear boots instead of his favourite sandals, but he did appreciate the fact that he could conceal small daggers inside them.  He buckled on his sword belt and reluctantly stowed his sandals in the rucksack.  The final touch was a nondescript grey cloak which dragged on the ground, having been made for a taller man.

He fixed the pattern of the castle courtyard in his mind and made the translocation.  It was the same location where he had met his friends a few months ago when bringing them over for their tour of the Fenian Galaxy.  He was looking forward to seeing them again and exploring Vordelle with them as his guides.

At first, he thought that the translocation had gone wrong.  Instead of the vast expanse of cobbled courtyard and the imposing architecture of the castle, he found himself in a barren wasteland with grass and weeds growing through the cobbles and nothing but ruined stonework where the castle ought to have been.  He was definitely in the right place, but clearly some great disaster had occurred, most likely a war, judging by the widespread destruction.

Reaching out with his enhanced senses, he sought the familiar mind signatures of his Vordellan friends, hoping that they had not been harmed when the castle had been destroyed.  “Please, Goddess, let them be alive and well” he prayed as he widened his search.

After several minutes of intense searching, he managed to pick up a faint trail of something which resembled Morgan’s mind signature.  He set off at a brisk pace, using both sorcery and mundane senses to keep a lookout for any potential threats.  He was puzzled that he could not trace anyone else, since he had informed them a few days ago that he would be arriving.  So far, nothing was as he had expected.

Many of the buildings in the city were in ruins and those which were still standing had sustained varying degrees of damage.  A few brave shopkeepers were open for business but custom appeared to be slow.  The city streets were sadly bereft of the usual crowds of shoppers, visitors and workers.  Even the pickpockets were fewer in number than Andreas had expected.  There was also an absence of sound.  Vendors refrained from their usual entreaties to come and buy their goods, and conversations were carried out in muted whispers.

Morgan’s emanations grew stronger and Andreas detected another mind signature close by.  It was similar to that of Elsa but it was not Elaine or any of the others whom he knew from Vordelle. 

He tracked both sets of emanations to a narrow alley behind a ruined inn.  Making sure that he was not being followed, he entered the alley as silently as his uncomfortable boots would allow, avoiding crunching on gravel and rubble. 

It was definitely Morgan and the young woman with him bore a distinct resemblance to the Silvereye sisters, except that she was too young to be either of them.

When he got closer, he noticed some differences in Morgan.  His friend had aged visibly and lost weight since their last meeting.  His black hair was shorter than Andreas remembered and his eyes were different colours — one red and the other his usual vivid shade of green.

“Morgan!” he called out.  “What happened to the city?  I can’t find Gerald, Elsa or Apollo.  I hope they be safe, wherever they be”.

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Leanora jumped when someone yelled Morgan’s name. Her reaction was nowhere near the hermit’s, though; he swung around, lighting his hands with fireballs that crackled with power. The young thief grimaced at the unhinged power and the look on Morgan’s face. Then, abruptly, a tired look came over his face and he lowered his hands. “Andreas Cesario,” he said quietly. “It’s been a long time.”

The little man, Andreas, frowned in confusion. “It’s only been a few days.”

Morgan gave a bitter laugh. “A few days? I haven’t seen you in eighteen years. And those haven’t been pleasant years, I can tell you that much.”

“What happened?” Andreas spread his hands helplessly. “How could eighteen years have passed?”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Morgan said, his voice growing darker and angrier. “Apollo died. An assassin broke into the castle and killed him in the night, and it was my fault. I let down my guard and this happened. We ended up in a war with Colnia and Corttann. When the war ended, nobody knew where any of the rulers were. They had all disappeared. Daren and Elaine’s son took over the throne, but he was too young and inexperienced. This is my life now, Andreas Cesario. Apollo, dead. Elsa and Gerald, missing. Elaine and Daren, presumed dead.” He became snide and sarcastic. “What good did your protection do us then? Our troubles started, and when we needed you most, you disappeared and we never saw you again.”

Andreas looked incredibly sad. Morgan, however, was not finished. “Do you see this?!” he yelled, pointing at his red eye. “This is the mark of what happened when Apollo died! And where were you then? Where was the oath your wife made to Elsa, promising to ensure her children would never have to live on the street?” He pointed at Leanora. “Ten years, she’s been living on the street! Her and her brother. Where were you when we were desperately searching for Elsa and Gerald?”

Leanora shifted uncomfortably. It seemed that eighteen years of fury had been building up inside Morgan, and she didn’t envy Andreas. The sorcerer’s shoulders slumped, and he sank into a seated position. “I failed you,” Morgan said. “I lost control. The war only started because of me. It’s easier to blame you when it’s really my own fault.” Then he raised his manic eyes to Andreas. “Why now?” he said. “How could you not have known what happened here? Did you honestly expect me to simply lark off on vacation with you, after all of this?”

Andreas glanced at Leanora, and she managed a small smile. “Leanora Silvereye-Hunt, at your service,” she said, bowing from her seated position.

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Fitz rubbed his head, not really sure what had happened. The last thing he could remember was fighting off the soldiers, then … nothing. Giving a low moan, the young thief picked himself up off the ground, brushing off his clothes, particularly the long, black leather coat that he’d inherited from his father. There was a tear in the shoulder.

Fitz rubbed his throat, which had begun to ache. He turned, intent on finding Leanora, and let out a strangled yell when he saw someone levelling a massive broadsword at him. He jumped back, reaching for his own blade, which was absent. It was only then that he realised his “attacker” couldn’t hurt him.

He was made out of stone.

Confident now, Fitz examined the statue carefully. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought that the statue had once been a human being. There was even the texture for the statue’s stubble.

With lightning-like shock, Fitz realised it was a statue of his father. He saw the handprint brand on the statue’s neck and tentatively reached out to touch it. It was then that Fitz saw his own hand was greyed and clawed. He gave a choked cry, stumbling back, grabbing his wrist. What the devil was going on?

Moving out of instinct, Fitz put his hand to the statue’s forehead, and pulled back immediately. He had felt something inside. Fear shot through him and he turned, running away from the castle, back into the city. He knew just one thing.

His father’s statue was actually his father.

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Joseph took Terra and Lizzy to his and Ilise’s home — an alley with a few sacks for beds and a pitiful fire. The girl kept in the background, and had yet to say a word to the Corttannians. After his initial introduction, Joseph was the same. He offered them a loaf of bread, and added, his cheeks flaming, “I’m sorry. It’s all we have.”

Terra split the loaf, handing the bigger half to Lizzy. “Where are we?” he asked, figuring it was as good a start as any.

Joseph fixed him with a strange look, Ilise hovering over his shoulder. “You’re in Zor, the capitol city of Vordelle. Obviously.”

Lizzy frowned. “We’re from Corttann.”

“Don’t make that known,” Ilise warned her.

Terra looked at her, puzzled. “We were at war with Corttann,” Joseph said. “And Colnia.”

“A-at war?” Lizzy exchanged confused glances with Terra. “We just left Corttann, and there was no war going on.”

“Maybe you’d better start at the beginning,” Terra said.

Joseph fiddled with his piece of bread. “About seventeen years ago, two men lived at Zor. They were cousins, but one of them tended towards darkness, while the other, light. Apollo Lightbringer —” Terra and Lizzy gaped at each other at the familiar names “— and Morgan Shadowbinder were closer than close. Then Apollo was assassinated. Morgan lost his mind to darkness and went on a rampage in Colnia, murdering at least ten citizens. The king declared war on Vordelle, and eventually, Corttann was dragged into it. When at least it seemed that peace could come, the rulers … disappeared.”

“Queen River?” Terra inhaled sharply.

“It happened last week,” Joseph said. “It was as if they’d never existed. My aunt and uncle had already vanished by that point. They disappeared about ten years ago.”

“W-wait,” Terra said. “Who are your aunt and uncle?”

Lizzy interrupted him. “You’re the prince, aren’t you?”

Joseph stared at his lap. “I’m the King, actually.”

Terra shook his head in bemusement. “I am completely lost.”

Lizzy, however, seemed to have a horrible sense of reality. “We’re in the future, Terra. I don’t know how far in the future, but we are. We have to be.”

Joseph sighed. “Can nothing be simple?” he asked. “Well, whatever the case, you’re the first potential allies I’ve actually successfully saved. Feel free to stay for as long as you want.”

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Merlin and Basil finished eating just as Lana joined them. The three sat in silence before Lana ventured to say, “This place is creepy. What could have happened to it?”

Basil shrugged. “War. Destruction. Darkness. It’s unfortunately not an unfamiliar case for me. I’ve seen it all before.”

Merlin had been rather quiet. He stood abruptly, nearly knocking over the table. “Someone has arrived,” he said.

“Is that a good thing?” Basil asked, frowning.

Merlin smiled. “Yes! It’s a Cesario mind signature. I’d recognise it anywhere. Lana, stay here. Don’t go anywhere. Councilman Basil, with me please. If one of the Cesarios is here, things may be looking up.”

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Andreas wiped away tears, shook his head and sighed.  “For me, tis only a few days since we last spoke and all of ye were fine then”.  He stared around at the ruins.  “Yet ye say eighteen years have passed.  Even accounting for the fact that we reckon time differently in the Fenian Galaxy, tis unnatural.  I can only conclude that someone has been messing around, causing time to speed up and provoking wars”.

He dabbed at his eyes again and turned his attention to Leanora, bowing low before her, his long tail of hair trailing on the ground.  He remained there for several minutes before getting up.  “Tis a pleasure to meet ye, Lady Silvereye-Hunt, though I wish it could have been under better circumstances.  But ye know how the old saying goes, wishing don’t make it so.  We have to deal with the hard facts instead of losing ourselves in pointless wishes.  And the hard fact be, we’ve failed ye.  We broke the vow that Anni made to yer mother, and for that, I can’t apologise enough”.

“I barely knew my mother” Leanora replied.  “And I didn’t even know about the vow until Morgan mentioned it.  I suppose you must have been very close to my parents to have made such a vow”.

“Aye, we were”.  Andreas wound a strand of his long hair around his fingers.  “Though we met in troubled times, we were great friends.  Meself and Gerald — yer Pa — had many adventures together, along with Morgan and Apollo.  Poor Apollo”.  His eyes filled with tears again and he bowed his head.  “Inriamorum.  He be in the Beyond now but I will always have good memories of him”.

Morgan could feel the sorrow emanating from his old friend and it brought back his own sense of loss.  “Me too.  I know we argued a lot and hurt each other at times, but he was the best friend I ever had.  If he hadn’t been killed, he might have been able to save me from the darkness, like he did so many times before.  I’ve never been strong enough to resist it on my own.  I’m weak and I’m a failure.  Even now I want to hide from my responsibilities and push all the blame onto you”.

Andreas patted him on the arm.  “Ye ain’t weak, amigo.  It takes a huge amount of courage to admit to yer mistakes.  And as for failing, we of the Inner Circle and Vyrdigaan Order Alliance should have prevented all of this.  Ye asked how comes I didn’t know.  Tis a valid question.  We ought to have known.  Yer world be under our protection.  The Ascended Masters and Elders at the Vyrdsphere constantly be monitoring all the protected worlds.  Something be terribly wrong here, and I don’t only mean the time difference and the war”.

He sat on the ground in his customary cross-legged meditation position and closed his eyes, reaching out with his enhanced senses, following the familiar pathways which led to the artificial planet known as the Vyrdsphere.  It contained the control centre where long-distance monitoring was carried out and the equations were constantly adjusted to deal with any minor discrepancies and imbalances before they grew larger and caused any serious damage. 

“What’s he doing?” Leanora asked Morgan.

“Knowing him, trying to contact someone back home” Morgan replied.  “He does that sort of thing a lot.  It’s how we all stay in touch when we’re on different worlds”.

Andreas’s eyes snapped open abruptly.  “No good.  Tis like the pathways to the Vyrdsphere don’t exist anymore.  I couldn’t find Anni or anyone else from back home either.  All the usual connections have vanished.  I can have a go at manipulating the equations, but twill take a long time and there be no guarantee of success.  We’d be better served trying to find Lady Leanora’s brother instead.  When and where did ye last see him?”

Leanora started to speak, but Andreas closed his eyes again.  “Wait!  I can feel something.  A mind signature”.

“Who is it?” Morgan demanded.

“Tis someone who Anni had dealings with” the little Spy Master answered.  “A powerful sorcerer by the name of Merlin Emrys.  And he has others with him, although I don’t recognise any of them.  They be trying to find us, so we’d best stay here to make it easier for them”.

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Merlin and Basil manoeuvred their way through the destroyed streets as Merlin pursued the mind signature. Basil assumed it was rather like the elven way of spirit-travelling, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Whatever the case, the sorcerer was rather clumsy, whereas Basil had little trouble making his way through the streets. His sword tapped against his thigh and his harp against his side. The feeling of darkness was oppressive to the elf, and he shuddered.

“There.” Merlin’s voice broke into Basil’s thoughts, and he pointed. “The short little man.”

Since neither Basil nor Merlin were very tall, Basil didn’t think that was a good comparison. Nevertheless, the two young men went into the alleyway and Merlin daringly approached the three there. Basil considered them from behind Merlin carefully. One was a man nearing his fifties in human years, with raven hair and different-coloured eyes. He looked familiar to Basil. Beside him was a young girl, in the midst of her teens, with red hair and silver eyes. Although she resembled Vordellan delegate Elsa Silvereye, she was too young.

The one of the most interest to Basil was the little man. He recognised him from the treaty of Meldin, but he hadn’t spent much time with him. Despite his unimpressive appearance, Basil could recognise the power emanating from him. Merlin bowed to Andreas, his too-big robes flowing around him. “Lord Cesario,” he said. “I am Merlin Emrys of Camelot. I had the pleasure of meeting your wife on Earth several years ago.”

“Aye,” Andreas said, tugging on his hair. “I know ye, Merlin Emrys. But why be ye here?”

“I sensed a distortion in magic,” Merlin admitted. “It’s my specialty. I’m a Guardian for a reason. I brought a girl with me, Lana-a-Dale. She’s the daughter of the man who was with me on Earth when I met your wife. What’s going on here, anyway?”

“Forgive the intrusion,” Basil said smoothly. “Lord Cesario. It’s a pleasure to see you again. I trust you have no riddles for me today?”

Andreas gave a small smile. When he and Basil had met, Andreas had given him a riddle after the elf had inadvertently offended both Andreas and his wife. “No riddles today,” he said.

“Councilman Basil.” Morgan glared at him. “Don’t you know how many Vordellans want you dead?”

Basil shook his head. “Not me. My future self. I’m from eighteen years in the past, I believe. If what I believe is true, this young lady is Elsa Silvereye’s child. The resemblance is uncanny. In my time period, Vordelle is preparing for the birth of her child.”

“So you’re from the past?” Morgan shook his head in bemusement. “That’s impossible.”

Leanora felt they were getting off-point. “I must find Fitz,” she insisted. “He’s all I have left. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, and whatever you want, if you’re not going to help me find him, then stay out of my way.” She stood up abruptly and walked out of the alley.

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Lana was growing bored. After being left at the inn by Uncle Emrys, she had been unable to still her mind. The ruined castle was on her mind, and eventually, unable to take her mind off of it, she left the inn. With her bow over her shoulder and her quiver at her hip, some of the few people wandering the streets looked at her strangely, but she returned the gazes with a blithe smile and they hastily looked away.

As she got closer to the castle, there were less and less people. That would normally have dissuaded people, but Lana wasn’t normal. She hardly even noticed. In fact, she walked with a bounce to her step, humming idly as she went.

It was for that reason she didn’t notice the young man sprinting down the street until he ran headlong into her. The two tumbled to the street, Lana laughing, the other … not so much. He pulled himself off her, staring at her with strange, barely-silver eyes. “Who’re you?” he asked, his voice uneven.

Lana glanced at his hand, with he had shoved into his pocket. “Lana-a-Dale. Why are you running?”

“Fitz,” he said, before realising she hadn’t asked him that. “I mean … no reason. Where are you going?”

“The castle. What destroyed it?”

Fitz shrugged. “Magic, I suppose.”

Lana looked him up and down before dimpling. “You’re kind of handsome,” she commented.

Fitz blushed. “Oh. Um … thanks. Are you Dundarian?”

“No, I’m British,” Lana said. “What’s that?”

Fitz spun around and shoved Lana. “Run!”

They were both too late. The shadows wrapped around them both, pinning them back to back before enveloping them completely. Lana only managed to scream briefly before her vision went black.