The Record of the Saints Caliber Page 23

  But then it came to be that the Kaldenthrax’s hunger outgrew the souls of the lost and those of the Kald. Apollyon and Formos wondered what great powers it would possess if they were to give it the soul of Aeoria and the Dragon Kings. But Apollyon and Formos knew that the Dragon Kings were powerful and would protect Aeoria to the death. There was one among them, however, who could be persuaded to help. Darkendrog was a selfish and jealous creature and often brooded when Aeoria would play with the other Dragons. They knew he wanted her all to himself and they conspired to trick Darkendrog into helping them.

  And so it was that Darkendrog was let in on a secret plan. Apollyon and Formos came to him in secret and told him that they wanted to feed the souls of the Dragon Kings to their beloved Kaldenthrax by using Aeoria as bait. They told Darkendrog that the whole thing was a ruse to get the Dragon Kings all in one place to be killed by the Kaldenthrax. Once all the Dragons were dead, Darkendrog could come in as Aeoria’s savior and take her away and have her all to himself. Apollyon promised Darkendrog that he would not hurt Aeoria, because she was, after all, his sister.

  Instrumental in this scheme was Celacia. She, like her master Darkendrog, was bitter. She brooded over the fact that the people of earth adored Calavar and not her. She was hated and feared; a symbol of death, destruction and evil. But of all the Avatars she was most powerful, for nothing could touch her. The fires of Felvurn and Gambrian could not burn her; the stone and steel of Terragon and Dargitan could not cut her; the lightning of Marakan and Metrator could not strike her; the winds of Sirusk and Vranick could not so much as caress her cheek; not even Formos’s own Avatar, Aria, whose very presence was the force of the raging seas could harm her. And so it was that Darkendrog set Celacia loose to kill the Avatars and bring back the one they despised the most: Calavar.

  Celacia obeyed her master with terrible delight. One by one she killed the Avatars until only Calavar was left. Calavar alone was immune to Celacia’s deathly touch, for he was the Avatar of life and creation. But Calavar would not raise his sword to Celacia, and she took him before Darkendrog, Formos and Apollyon. Before the very gates of the Abyss they chained him, and the Kaldenthrax screamed out in pained hunger for his soul. Celacia delighted in Calavar’s suffering, but not even she would be spared the schemes of the two remaining Dragon Kings and Apollyon. It was said that Darkendrog himself deceived Celacia and buried her deep beneath the Abyss where not even she could awaken from death.

  It was after Celacia’s entombment that Apollyon and his conspirators lured his sister Aeoria to the earth. They tricked Aeoria into meeting them in the Abyss, telling her that they had Calavar prisoner. They warned her to come alone and tell none of the Dragon Kings. When Aeoria showed up, she saw Calavar chained before the Kaldenthrax. So dismayed was Aeoria, that she agreed to take his place if they let him go. Apollyon himself chained his sister before the beast so that it could feast upon her divine soul, but he did not let Calavar go. Instead, he threw him into the Abyss where not even his powers of life and creation could save him.

  And now, with Aeoria missing, the Dragon Kings became angry and upset. Darkendrog went before them and told them that he alone knew of her whereabouts. He told them that Formos had betrayed them all and that she and Apollyon had taken her prisoner and chained her before their terrible child, the Kaldenthrax.

  Apollyon and Formos knew that the Dragon Kings would now come to her aid and they prepared for the final battle. As the Kaldenthrax fed upon Aeoria’s soul it became more powerful. The Kald were emboldened and decided to come down from the arctics and attack the realms of men, for they knew that each human they killed would be one more soul for the Kaldenthrax. Meanwhile, the Dragon Kings went to the Abyss to fight Apollyon and get Aeoria back.

  As the Dragon Kings entered the Abyss, the Kaldenthrax attacked them. Darkendrog came forth from the shadows to do battle with them as well. It was Rallenar who managed to free Aeoria, and not wanting to risk any harm to her, spirited her away to safety. The legends said that after rescuing the Goddess, Rallenar learned of the demise of the Avatars. Angry and upset, the mighty white dragon began collecting all of their fallen weapons and armor.

  Within the Abyss, only Formos, Darkendrog, Felvurn and the Kaldenthrax were left. All the other Dragon Kings had fallen and the Kaldenthrax ate their souls and became ever more fearsome. As Formos moved in to finish off Felvurn, Apollyon and the Kaldenthrax turned on Darkendrog, betraying him. Angered, Darkendrog killed Formos and then fled away to lick his wounds. Felvurn was badly injured, and as Apollyon screamed in rage that his love, Formos, was dead, the Kaldenthrax moved in to finish off Felvurn. Just then, Rallenar returned and he had the fallen Avatars’ weapons and armor with him.

  The Kaldenthrax was too powerful at this point, having consumed much of Aeoria’s life as well as the lives of the fallen Dragon Kings. Knowing that fighting the creature was now futile, Rallenar and Felvurn took the Avatar’s armors and Felvurn melted them into a single chain. The chain was known as the Elemental Chain, for it was made of the armors of the Avatars and contained the very might of the elements they commanded. As his final act, Felvurn sacrificed himself to the Kaldenthrax so that Rallenar could bind the beast to the very foundations of the earth. So powerful was the chain, having been forged of all the might of earth, air, fire, water and lightning, that nothing save the five elements could ever break it. And so it was, that for all time, the Kaldenthrax would be chained before the gates of the Abyss, unable to escape its bindings.

  But there came to be one artifact that could break the Elemental Chain: the Mard Grander.

  The Old Gods were furious about what had happened. All the Dragon Kings, save Rallenar and Darkendrog, were dead. All the Avatars gone. The legends said the two Old Gods were so distraught by the havoc wreaked that they gave themselves up to become Heaven and Hell. The Great Father became the domain known as Hell and his son, Apollyon would lord over this domain so that he would forever be forced to witness the souls of the tormented. Such would be his punishment for the evil schemes he unfolded. The Great Mother became the domain of Heaven and placed her daughter, Aeoria, as lord of this realm. The mortals of earth so adored her that it was decided that in death men of good will could forever walk amongst her spirit.

  And for the men of Duroton, the Great Gods had one last gift. Duroton had fought valiantly against the Kald and for many ages had held them off, keeping them confined to the arctics. As their final act, the Great Gods took the swords from the fallen Avatars—the swords of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Lightning—and forged them into a single, all-powerful hammer. That hammer was the Mard Grander. Within it was contained all the fury of the elements and the Great Gods charged that it would go to the righteous men of Duroton and they would use it to uphold the domains of men. There was no enemy the Mard Grander could not smite, and they charged that the men of Duroton would use it to uphold the North from the Kald so that all the domains of men would remain safe from the abominable creatures. So fearful was the power of the Mard Grander that the mere idea of it held the Kald at bay.

  Egret inhaled deeply and looked upon the Council who all seemed lost in the same legends and myths as he had been. “Celacia is a deceiver. I believe Celacia is here to somehow bring back her master. If Darkendrog is brought back, chaos will reign upon this world. The legends say that when the final star falls from the sky, an age of destruction shall be visited upon us. The stars are all but gone now. I believe Celacia is the herald of this new age and that if she can bring back Darkendrog, that age will come to pass. But I swear beneath the Duroton sky that I will make sure she will fail in that mission. And if it is true that the hammer can be used to awaken the Goddess, then Duroton should see that done as well.”

  Balin nodded his head. “Very clever deductions. To be quite honest with you, the Jinn have told us they believe much the same. But, certainly you know Celacia is powerful enough to accomplish her goals without our help?”

  “It has crossed my mind
more than once.” admitted Egret. “But I also believe we have the one thing she needs, and that is the Mard Grander. Celacia has only agreed to work with us and to deliver the skull because she is seeking a means to reforge the hammer. I do not think it is wise that we entertain any of her ambitions.”

  Balin nodded. “She wants the Mard Grander reforged.” admitted Balin. He looked at Egret very severely now. “And we have agreed to give it to her.”

  Egret scowled. “With all due respect—”

  “Hear us out, Lord Egret.” said Balin. “We have no intention of letting her have the Mard Grander, but we do need that skull if it is as powerful as Celacia claims. The Jinn have told us that with the skull we will be able to forge star-metal for our own needs, but they also believe it can be used to reforge the Mard Grander. Celacia knows the hammer is broken. She believes the skull can be used to reforge it. After all, it was the breath of the Dragon King Felvurn who melted the armors of the Avatars into the Elemental Chain. The Mard Grander was created from the weapons of those same Avatars, so we do have reason to believe that it is possible.”

  Balin looked to the rest of the council and gestured for them to all stand. They all looked upon Egret and Balin said, “Lord Egret, we cannot allow Celacia to obtain the Mard Grander after it is reforged. On behalf of King Garidrir and this Council, we task you, Lord Egret, with protecting the Mard Grander from her at all costs.”

  “We shall string her along as long as we can,” said Councilman Gefjon. “If we can use the skull to reforge star-metal and the Mard Grander, we will have weapons that can be used against her.”

  “We cannot let her bring back the Black Dragon,” said Balin, looking at Egret.

  Egret thought for a moment. “You plan to use the skull to reforge the Mard Grander and then wield it against Celacia?”

  Balin looked at Egret. “You know as well as this Council that our weapons are useless against Celacia. Our swords would turn to dust before they even scratched her skin. But her powers have no sway over star-metal. If we could armor you and the Dark Star Knights in Star-Armor and arm you with weapons of star-metal, we could destroy her and all her evil ambitions.”

  Gefjon spoke now, looking at Egret. “We also believe that the Mard Grander, once reforged, could be wielded against her. However, this Council and King Garidrir think it prudent to let the hammer remain broken until Celacia can be dealt with. We cannot risk the hammer falling to her.”

  “Lord Egret,” said Balin, gesturing to the glass ceiling above. “Beneath the Duroton sky will you swear to protect the Mard Grander and slay Celacia?”

  Egret nodded. “By the Lands of Duroton, I shall not fail.”

  “Then it is settled. As soon as we can have weapons and armor of star-metal crafted that can be worn by you and your men, you shall wield them against Celacia,” said Balin. “In the meantime, you must not let the Mard Grander fall to her hands. No one must know of this. Not Brandrir or Dagrir or any of the Knights of the Dark Stars. Only the King, the Jinn and we in this room know of this plot.”

  The Councilmen all bowed slightly to Egret. “As always, Lord Egret, your loyalty to Duroton is unmatched.” said Balin. “We thank you for your service.”

  Egret bowed his head slightly.

  “You are dismissed,” said Balin. “Please return to see King Garidrir. I believe he requires your services.”

  Egret turned and left the room. Once the door was closed, Balin took his seat with the rest of the council. “That solves one of our issues,” said Balin. He sighed and tapped his fingers on the table.

  “If the hammer can indeed be used to awaken Aeoria, Egret will want to figure out how the hammer can be used to do that, and so will the Saints.” said Parvailes, jumping right into the discussion that Balin had eluded to. “I think we can all agree on that. He admitted as much when he told us why he took that Saint Isley for himself.”

  Hymnar nodded. “We all heard him. He said it himself he has been getting to know Celacia better than anyone. He’s already trying to figure out from her how the hammer can be used to awaken the Goddess, I’m sure of it.”

  “Indeed,” said Gefjon. “But he won’t be awakening her to kill her.”

  “We should let Celacia do the deed,” said Aldur. “If she kills the Goddess, so be it. That’s what we want, isn’t it?”

  “But what if she fails?” croaked Parvailes. “Are you willing to risk everything this Council has fought for over the years on it? Worse, what if she succeeds in bringing back Darkendrog? It’s best we never let her take the hammer in the first place.”

  “I concur with Rankin,” said Gefjon. “If the Goddess is sleeping, let her sleep. What difference is it if she’s dead or sleeping. Either way she’s of no concern.”

  “Hear, hear!” said much of the Council in unison.

  Balin looked up at the Council. “The prudent thing to do is ensure Celacia never obtains the Mard Grander. Once we get the skull, we have the Jinn experiment in reforging star-metal into weapons and armor that our people can use. Without it, we have no means to even touch Celacia. Once she’s gone, we have Egret return the hammer to the King. If Egret persists in finding and awakening the Goddess, we have Tarquin to fall back on. We have him silence Egret permanently if it comes to that.”

  “And what if Brandrir takes the throne tomorrow?” asked Parvailes. “We cannot yet be certain the crown will go to Dagrir.”

  Balin sighed and tapped his fingers on the table. He clucked his tongue and then looked at the Council. “That is going to be a thorn in our side. But if Brandrir takes the throne we’ll have bigger worries in our immediate future. All we can do now is make sure Celacia does not get that hammer. If we have to, we send Egret away with it and tell Celacia he stole it. That will buy us some time until we can obtain star-metal for our soldiers.”

  “Agreed,” said Gefjon. “No use locking ourselves into anything until we know who takes the crown tomorrow. With any luck Brandrir is already half way back to the Grimwatch.”

  “Hear, hear!”

  Balin sighed loudly. “What’s left on the agenda?”

  “We have the matter of the reparations Brandrir ordered us to pay the Icelanders,” said Parvailes as he looked over a parchment. “And we have the issue of the gasline in Snowbearing. We need another ten-thousand phoenix to finish the repairs. Lord Angmir met with Jord here and the King last night about it. I do believe he rode all the way here more to voice his complaints than for the Rising of the Phoenix.”

  “Indeed,” said Jord. “As Councilman of Collections and Taxes I’ve met with more nobles than I can count the last few days. Snowbearing is not the only city that needs things. Lord Misendrar from Grayfrost has been asking for more knights for over a year. We just can’t afford to send anymore Northern Guardsmen away. He says he can live without a Dark Star Knight to head his army but he needs more than just villagers as soldiers.”

  “Money is a real concern right now,” said Rankin.

  “It’s only going to get worse if we don’t start acting on some of these issues soon,” said Jord. “Lord Misendrar is refusing to pay another phoenix in taxes until we get him his knights.”

  “You know,” said Balin, brightening up as his eyebrow raised. “I think we might be able to kill two birds with one stone. What say we have Lord Tarquin test out his new Saints? The Icelanders are swimming in money. Send the Saints over there on a ship. They can clean up the place and suddenly we have the phoenix for Snowbearing’s gaslines, Grayfrost’s knights, and plenty more to spare.”

  There was some chuckles amongst the Councilmen. “That’s not a bad idea,” admitted Jord. “Any survivors will just say it was Saints.”

  “Brandrir would never approve,” said Rankin Parvailes. “If he takes the throne tomorrow and finds out, it isn’t going to be my head on the chopping block.”

  “Who says he has to find out?” said Balin, raising his brow. “If Brandrir takes the crown tomorrow, he’ll have far too much to deal with to
think about the Icelanders. Besides, more likely, he’ll run back off to the Grimwatch like he said. He’s not one to make idle threats.”

  “If we do this, word must never get out.” cautioned Parvailes. “Not to Dagrir, not to Lord Egret, and I’d hesitate to even tell King Garidrir.”

  “It would have to be complete eradication,” said Gefjon. “No survivors. No women. No children.”

  “Isn’t that what Saints do?” said Balin. “Isn’t that what the southern kingdoms use them for? Quell dissent? Strike fear?”

  “But women and children?” pressed Aldur. “Will Saints do such a thing?”

  Balin cracked a little smile. “Let me tell you of the kingdom of Valdasia and King Verami and his Queen, Loretta. They’re brother and sister, you know. Incestuous lovers. Apparently only his own sister could love such a sickly, crippled man.”

  “Yes, we all know of the depravity of the southern kingdoms.” said Aldur, waving a dismissive hand. “Gatima of Jerusa starves his people while silos of grain rot. King Dhanzeg of Narbereth mutilates any who might be more beautiful than his own daughters. It all makes for lurid campfire tales, but what’s that have to do with the Icelanders?”

  “His sister Loretta is said to be barren,” said Balin. “But she desperately wants a child. They say she is called the Dire Mother and all the women of Valdasia fear her. She sends her Saints out to take newborns from their mothers. She lets them suckle from her fallow breasts until they die. They say her nursery has endless rows of shelves, heavy with jars of bones from the babies she’s starved upon her breasts.”

  “Your point?” said Aldur.

  “It’s the Saints that do it all.” said Balin. “It’s not the Kings that carry out these things. It’s the Saints that bring those babies to their deaths in Valdasia. It’s the Saints that take the food from the people in Jerusa and let them starve. Killing women and children is what Saints do. Full eradication of the Icelanders is a job well suited for Lord Tarquin and his new Saints Alliance, is it not?”