THE BEAST OF BEGMIRE
by
Duane Gundrum
If there was one constant in the history of warfare, it was that wars were rarely completely decisive. Even in the most one-sided conflicts, even the losing side gained a momentary advantage at some point during the clash. When Magnus defeated Larsus in the Battle of the Bride, even Larsus’s army had instances where it looked like history might not have been written as currently taught. When Walner’s forces spread out across the lands with no defeat in sight, a lone baron held out long enough for the boy king to find Sarbonn and turn back the tide. But on this day, the devastation brought upon Fireme was so one-sided and demonstrative that no memory of success on the part of the vanquished would ever be remembered. The dark forces were both overwhelming and of a magnitude never before seen in the history of Reagul.
Retreat was the order of the day, and the complete abandonment of Fireme was all the few survivors could do as demon armies and impassioned followers of the Dark One slaughtered anyone they could find. Minor wizards sacrified their lives to shield any surivivors from sight long enough to escape, even though evil blindly hancked through the darkness, finding victims as more swords and axes swung freely through the shadowed cloaks. One by one, the wizards fell to blades as they did what they could to offer brief windows of escape for the many potential victims of this lost battlefield.
Over the cries and screams, a lone exhausted voice could be heard wailing: “Evina! Evina!” The voice wailed over and over until the bloody warrior calling out the name emerged from bodies of dark army soldiers, slashing his way through like an explorer trapsing through the jungle, seeking a river. As drak forces moved towards his voice, his sword swung deftly before him, cutting down evil men and creatures who came near him. As many tried to reach him, all that appeared important to him was the object of his search, which remained elusive no matter how many enemies he sliced through before him.
As he plowed through the enemies before him, his eyes latched onto the figure of a slender woman, standing before a throng of enemy creatures who seemed to be apprehensive about approaching any closer to her. Their fears were founded as lightning erupted from her fingers, frying several columns of enemies right where they stood, leaving nothing but ashes in the wake. As another group tried to flank her from the other side, blue light exploded all around her, ripping through anyone foolish enough to come close to her.
“Evina,” he said. “I thought I’d never find you.”
She turned to him. “Helm, forget about me. Protect the wizards. Their cloaking spells are all the people of Fireme have left to protect them.”
His eyes protested. He was sworn to protect her above all else.
“I am fine,” she said, reading his thoughts before he could reveal them. “Protect the wizards!”
Hearing that, Helm turned and rushed at the first wizard he could see, putting himself between the wizard and soldiers trying to reach him. The wizard, realizing what Helm was trying to do, extended his cloak to cover Helm as well, so that when the warrior lashed out with his sword, he would do so from the cover of darkness.
So Helm started hacking away. Quickly, the sea of enemies before him became and ocean of corpses, his sword given little time to rest as he moved from one enemy to the next.
Every now and then, Helm would glance back to Evina, remarking as she blinked out of existence, appearing an instant later behind a wave of invaders, scorching them with deadly flame, blinking to nothing again and then appearing elsewhere to continue her onslaught.
As a seasoned tactician, Helm quickly realized that with so many enemies surrounding them, even their vicious defense wasn’t going to save Fireme. When the Dark One set his mind upon an objective, often the resistane of those overwhelmed, even as formidable as Evina and Helm were, was of little consequene.
As Helm battled forward, he glanced at Evina again and saw her falter, dropping to one knee after vanquishing nearly a dozen soldiers who had been standing before her only a moment ago.
He’d seen her like this before. She was exhausted, her powers having tapped a resource that had its limitations, to which she had finally reached. The battle had been too fierce and too consuming; no one could maintain that type of energy and still keep going.
The wizard Helm was protecting caught Helm’s furtive glance and understood immediately what was happening. Having saved dozen of villages from slaughter, the wizard turned and rushed towards Evina, throwing up his shadow cloak around her in a movement he’d done so many times before that it almost seemed effortless.
Helm rushed over to her and reached down to steady her shoulder, as his other hand flipped the sword dexterously so that it was up and ready to counter anyone foolish enough to come close.
He had never seen her unleash this amount of damage before. He knew her powers were limited, but until now he had never seen how much of which she was truly capable. But there were so many dead bodies around her, a scale of destruction he might never have believed possible if he hadn’t been there observing her do it.
She turned to him. “I’m losing my focus. I’m afraid the battle is lost.”
Helm nodded, realizing his steadying arm was all that was keeping her from falling over. “The battle was lost before it began. All we’ve done is stoke the ashes and hold open the door.”
The wizard was still with them. “I can cover your escape,” he said. “You needn’t die here with everyone else.”
Helm shook his head. “We don’t run from a fight just because it’s hopeless.”
The wizard paid Helm’s words no attention and began to produce another spell, this one taking much more time than the cloaking spells he had been throwing up a short time ago. “You and the Lady Evina hae a much greater destiny than to die on this insignificant battlefield. One doesn’t need to be a seer to recognize that.”
Helm just stared at him.
A portal of energy appeared where the wizard was focusing his spell. Quickly, the wizard gestured to the portal that flickered in the darkness of one of the wizard’s earlier spells. “This is not a time for heroics. You have done all that you can here.”
Helm maneuvered Evina towards the portal. And then he stopped and turned back to the wizard. “But what about you?” He knew little about portals, but he was pretty sure someone had to actually hold one open for someone else to go through it.
“I’ll follow behind you,” he said, gesturing at the portal frantically. “Go!”
Helm nodded slowly, still not convinced, but then remembered how weak Evina was. So he pulled her off her feet and slung her over his back like an oversized pack. Then he stepped into the portal.
After Helm and Evina stepped through the portal, they were gone. The portal then collapsed on itself and disappeared into the darkness.
The wizard had lied. He knew there was no one to hold open the door for him, but he also knew how important Evina and Helm were. When the portal shut, he nodded to the gods, convinced he had done his part to protect Reagul from the Dark One.
Sometimes, that was all a lowly wizard could ever hope to do.
The procession had been traveling for days through the desert to the east, until the road bended north into the Twin Forests. Usually, people did not take the journey without much preparation, and without some type of protection as there were rogues and bandits often working through the forests, but the few thousand people walking through the forest had no choice. Fireme had been lost, and all they had left was the hope that they might succeed in reaching Begmire on the northern exit of the forests.
Evina and Helm caught up with the long line of refugees and quickly became a part of the sprawling army. At first, they were treated as outsiders, having joined the group in mid-travel, but it was quickly recognized that Helm was a warrior, and in such a journey he was exactly the kind of person they wanted and needed to have around.
For a good portion of the journey, Helm was still practically dragging Evina forward, trying to keep her on her feet, but quite often having to carry her. She was completely exhausted, and there was little time for them to rest as long as the column continued to move forward. They didn’t want to risk losing the group, and Helm suspected that the group probably needed them as much as he and Evina needed the group.
One evening, the front of the procession stopped, and then from cries through the night, the call to halt forward movement was resonated through the trees. At some point, someone who was leading this group decided that the entire entourage needed rest, and for the first time in several days, the group stopped so it could do just that.
Helm pulled a canvas tarp out of his carry load and stretched out a make-shift tent that he tied down and then quickly bundled Evina up so she could finally get some seriously needed rest. He figured he would scout the area a bit before he turned in himself and tried to sleep a few hours as well.
As he took a few steps into one of the clearings, he spotted that he was being observed by several men from the group. They had the look of discomfort on their faces as they stared at him. Not one to avoid a confrontation, Helm walked over to them.
“Is there a problem, friend?” he said.
The larger of three men glared back at Helm. “Your woman is slowing you down,” he said. “You might consider abandoning her and moving on. This isn’t a trek for the weak.”
Helm just stared at him. “Would you abandon your wife or your daughter, if you had one?”
The man didn’t seem affected by Helm’s words. “Is she your wife?”
Helm shook his head no. “We are pledged to each other. Beyond that, I would not care to say.”
“She is slowing you down,” said one of the other men. “We can all see that. She probably should have died during the battle, and you’re just too foolish to realize it.”
The hint of a smile came to Helm’s face. Obviously, they were had not observed the parts of battle that took place involving Evina. If they had, they most certainly never would have made some an outrageous recommendation. “She is my burden,” said Helm. “And as she is wont to say, I am hers. As long as I still breathe, we’ll continue to be problems for each other.”
“Your sacrifice,” said the third man, as he turned away from Helm and walked back towards another set of stragglers who were milling about. The two other men glared at Helm for a few moments themselves before they, too, walked over to their friend and left Helm’s company.
Helm was fine with that. Something told him he wasn’t probably going to find much comfort in the company of men who would abandon a loved one because of the burden she might cause them in having to actually care.
Before Helm decided to take a quick walk through the campsite area to check the safety of the area, he checked in on Evina to see if she was sleeping. She surprised him by sitting up in her blankets when he appeared within the flap.
“You should sleep,” said Helm.
“I will,” she said. “You should as well.”
He nodded. “I’m going to walk the perimeter once. You know how I am about open places.”
She nodded back at him. “Be gentle with these people. They’re scared, and they’ve never gone through something like this before.”
He shook his head and managed a laugh. “They wanted me to abandon you. Said you’re just slowing me down.”
She didn’t share his laugh. “Like I said, they’re scared. They’re lashing out as scared people normally do. We don’t have the luxury to act the same way. We might be all that stands between those people and their chances of survival.”
He nodded. “I’m going to do that perimeter walk.”
She smiled, not saying it but knowing how much Helm hated when she had to explain something as simple as how to communicate with people who weren’t warriors and fighters. She watched him disappear into the tree line.
After the disaster of Fireme, Evina did not sleep as well as she would have desired. Instead, as she drifted off to sleep, she found herself revisiting the battlefield where she and Helm held the line against the Dark One’s forces. As he mind tried to work through the events that occurred, and her dream tried to relive the incident, an inner voice kept nagging at her, stating, “This is not what you think it is. The battle is over, yet this is just the beginning.”
The thought kept resonating through her as she walked across the place where she defended the many people who were trying to escape the slaughter happening all around them. No longer was she reliving the moment, but she found herself walking the battlefield, stepping over dead bodies, both friend and foe. The squishing sound under her boots were only accentuated by the ocassional crack of a bone as she walked slowly forward.
“A blood bath,” said a voice from all around her. “I, too, often revisit the locations of where I have taken many lives.”
The voice then seemed to echo from a spot before her, which she quickly focused upon, finally seeing the dark figure as it started to move into sight.
The image was pitch black, but seemed to implode with practically every color of the spectrum, a black hole of images as it sucked in everything around it and released nothing in return. The figure moved forward, slowly, and then a spiny arm stretched out from it, growing until a hand appeared at its end and then a solitary, bony index finger that stuck itself out and pointed directly at Evina.
“You have squandered your talents aimlessly, protecting these fools from their own destruction,” the voice said. “You had such great power at your command, and you use it for—“
He glanced around at the uncountable dead bodies on the ground.
“—For this? A sorcerer is so much more than this, yet you waste your talents on the insignificance of those all around you. Do you bow to them as well?”
Evina knew this was the Dark One, or at least one of his many manifestations. She had encountered him before, sometimes in dreams, other times in various plant life that he inhabited right before taking its life. He always spoke her to as if there was something important he had to say, but each conversation always ended with the promise that he was going to destroy her.
For her own good.
Evina glared at the sucking vortex of black energy that remained in front of her. “Why must you continue to do this? These people have done nothing to you.”
A laugh escaped the vortex before it quickly lost its volume and fell back into the abyss. “They exist. As long as they exist, they must be extinguished. You know this better than anyone.”
And then the vortex completely imploded upon itself and disappeared into a tiiny fleck of light, which then vanished.
Evina remained immobile, sleeping, yet one thought kept flowing through her mind. She didn’t know this better than anyone.
She had no idea what the Dark One was talking about.
The man at the gate was dressed in dark blue, the ceremonial colors of a Guardian of Begmire. Standing between the entrance and the small convoy of travelers, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. "I am afraid that the Baron of Begmire will see no more visitors today. You will have to move on."
An older man, the self-appointed leader of the convoy, stepped forward. "But, sir, our people have been traveling for many days. We have been moving since the loss of Fireme. We cannot continue without rest."
"Then rest in the woods," said the guard. "We do not serve charity here."
"But we are not charity," said the man. He wiped his hand across his cheek, removing inches of dust and dirt from his face. "We are loyal subjects of the Baron of Begmire, former subjects of the Baron of Fireme."
"You are peasants," said the guard. "Begone."
The man refused to move. "We have women and children who have not slept in real beds since the loss. Have mercy on us for their sakes."
The Guardian of Begmire slid his sword out half way. "I can be forceful if you wish me to be so. Do not make me have to back up my words with force."
The leader of the convoy found himself pushed out of the way, another man taking his place. This man was much younger, but there were scars on his body that revealed much battle he had seen in the two decades he had been alive. At his side a young woman appeared; unlike the other women of the convoy, she stood beside him, not behind him.
"And who are you?" said the guard, "a child to defend his people? Don't make me laugh."
The man's expression was one of sincerity. "I am Helm of Ravinna. These people will be allowed into Begmire, or you will answer to me."
The Guardian laughed. "And you are going to make me answer? A man who has his woman stand beside him? Begone or I will bring you the baron's justice."
"This is not the baron's justice," said the woman. "This is your own personal injustice."
The Guardian's smile grew deeper. "And who might you be, Lass?"
"I am Evina of Westland."
The travelers around the woman stepped back to give her even more room. There were several surprised gasps from the crowd that was gathered to enter Begmire.
The Guardian's smile disappeared as he stared out at the woman who called herself Evina. She appeared to be in her early twenties, if that, and her hair was jet black and long. Unlike the other women around her, she dressed in the robes of a sword-for-hire, but there didn't appear to be any sword hanging from her side. She also appeared to be exhausted, the wear of days of travel on her face, and the hint of so much more that wasn’t being said.
"Young woman who calls herself Evina of Westland, the real Evina of Westland fought alongside Sarbonn and Chandlin in the Eastern Wars. That was over one hundred years ago. You don't look a day over twenty. Explain that."
The woman made no attempt to back down from her words. "Continue to harrass this convoy, and you will get your explanation sooner than you expect."
"A threat?" he said with a laugh. The sword came out all the way this time. "After I kill your man, I will show you what the might of a sword can do."
As the Guardian moved forward, the sword came from Helm's scabbard and swung through the air, meeting the Guardian's in mid flight. The Guardian turned to the swordsman in surprise, not actually expecting to see another sword come out against him.
No one dared to raise a sword against a Guardian of Begmire.
The Guardian looked around him, realizing that there was a crowd gathering from within the gates of Begmire. Citizens were wondering what he was going to do now that he was provoked. As his code of service required, he was now going to have to face down Helm for the crime of locking swords with him. "That is your death, swordsman," said the Guardian. "It is against the Laws of Begmire to touch the sword of a Guardian."
Helm smiled at him, his sword still locked in place against the Guardian's. "The law is invalid as we are not in Begmire. We are outside the gate."
The Guardian glanced behind him, realizing that he had left his post to confront the woman, leaving Begmire in the process. A smile came to his face. "By all rights, you are correct." He pulled his sword back from the locked position, realizing there was a chance that he would get out of this situation without having to report it to the Baron. After all, there was nothing the Baron hated more than sword play at the gates. "To show my embarrassment, you are permitted to enter."
"The whole convoy?" said Helm.
The Guardian sighed. "The whole convoy may pass." He stepped back and motioned for one of his assistants to open the gate. The whole procession began entering the city.
Helm and Evina started to move by the Guardian. "Not so soon," said the Guardian to the two of them.
"Is our fight not over?" said Helm.
"Of course it is," he said. "I was in error when I attacked you outside of the city limits. You reminded me of my honor; for that, I am grateful. However, there are still some questions that must be answered."
The whole convoy was within the city when the assistants shut the gates again, taking their positions with bows in case there was an unannounced attack.
"Who are you really?" said the Guardian.
"We gave you our real identities," said Evina. "It is now up to you to believe or doubt us."
The Guardian turned to Helm. "Shut your woman up. I wish only to speak to the one in charge of the two of you, not the subordinate."
A smile came to Helm's face. "Then you must speak to Evina. I serve her."
The Guardian's eyes opened wide. "A woman? That is preposterous."
"If she is who she stated she was, it is not that preposterous."
The Guardian sighed and turned to Evina. "How can you be Evina of Westland? She would be dead by now."
"Not everything is as you believe, Guardian."
The Guardian thought for a moment. "Are you one with the Dark One?"
"Of course not," she said. "I have told you who I am. If you know the stories about me, you know I cannot possibly be aligned with the Dark One."
"Then how can you be alive?"
Helm spoke up this time. "Guardian, much more cannot be explained to you. We were on a mission for the Guild in Fireme when it was attacked. We must be on our way so that we may continue that mission."
"Very well," he said. "There is an inn on the other side of town. The owner is Milton. Tell him I sent you, and he will give you decent hospitality."
"Why are you being nice to us?" said Helm.
"Let's just say that I want to know where you are staying when I report this information to the Baron. He is probably going to want to speak to you after he is briefed."
"Very well," said Evina. "We will seek out your friend and stay in his inn."
Dinner was served in the inn shortly after they arrived and haggled over the price for a room. While Milton was willing to give them a room on the name of the Guardian, that didn’t mean he was about to give them one for free. After all, he was a businessman, and few favors were conducted without at least a little bit of the coin changing hands.
As Helm continued to pick over his dinner, Evina stared at him from across the table. "Do you realize that the other guests here all wonder who we are?"
Helm looked up from his overpicked meat at the people who were watching the two of them from other tables. "And manners appear to be lacking, too," he added. "I have a fresh mind to pull my sword and run the lot of them in."
Evina smiled. "And what has that ever got you?"
He went back to his meat again. "It has saved your pretty hide from time to time."
"And how many times has this pretty hide of mine saved that ugly hide of yours?"
He said nothing, obviously a bit embarrassed to face her with the answer to that one. "What is with this city, anyway?"
"What do you mean?" she said.
"Why did we flee from Fireme? I thought you had work to do there."
She looked around to insure no one else was listening to their conversation. "There is work I must do there, but the Dark One is there now. I suspect he may be on the same quest that I am on. It is sometimes very difficult to determine what it is he’s truly after. His tendrils stretch in more places than ever. As a matter of fact, even Begmire is not beyond his influence."
He stood up from his seat. "He is here?"
Several people glanced over at them. "Sit down," she said to him quickly. He nodded and sat. "He knows I am in the area. It is because of me that he is here."
"But I have not sensed him. I have always sensed him in the past."
"He is not here as himself," she said. "He has sent one of his servants."
A smile came to Helm's face. "Then my sword will send his servant back to its grave."
She shook her head no. "Do not underestimate the Dark One's powers. Even his servants are very powerful."
"But you would have little trouble against any of his servants," said Helm. "You even faced down the Dark One himself."
"Yes," she said, "but to face down one of his servants would alert him to my presence. I am too weak to face him without serious rest first."
"Then rest here," said Helm. "This inn should suit your purposes."
She smiled. "My friend, that is not the kind of rest that I seek. While a rest for you is a night of immobile sleep, rest for me is weeks of control of the mind. I am afraid that I do not have the time."
"But why not? We are safe here. Surely the Dark One has not found you yet. He still thinks you are in Fireme with the survivors. You should have a couple of weeks before he gets wise to you. And if he does get wise sooner, there is always my sword to protect you."
Evina wanted to tell Helm about the dreams, but then realized it would just worry him. Right now, she needed him alert and focused. A paranoid warrior-lover wouldn’t serve their needs at all.
Her smile grew deeper. "If only your power was as strong as your boasts. I am afraid that I will have to get as much rest as possible, but I cannot tell exactly how much that will require."
Helm nodded. "I will be here to protect you. I promise that."
"That is why I love you so much," she said. "Without you, I would surely be alone."
Helm smiled. "Without you, I would surely be dead."
Helm paid Milton a full week's worth of rent, and for the first couple of days, Evina spent most of her time in their room asleep or in deep meditation. Sometimes, realizing that Evina was not going to be conscious for the day, Helm went down to the bar to imbibe and listen to the local tales of Begmire. As he listened, he became more and more interested in what was going on in the large city.
The first conversation brought him much humor. Apparently, two old blacksmiths were at odds over a particular footnote in history.
“There’s no ways I tell ya,” said the larger man. “Tytus would have kicked Magnus’s behind from Cherekin to Kantan.”
His friend shook his head and slammed his drink mug down on the sooden table. “Nonsense! King Magnus was probably the greatest warrior in the land. He destroyed Larsus and then managed to unite the entire kingdom under his rule. Tytus was nothing but his shadow and did nothing great himself unless it was in service to his king.”
“But the years after King Magnus are what made the difference,” said the first man again. “Magnus might have been an influence on the future, but Tytus destroyed his enemies often within moments of meeting him in battle. The legends of his exploits before becoming Magnus’s champion talk about the wars he fought and the great many men he killed. Magnus was basically a statesman. Great for his time, but not the kind of leader Tytus was.”
The second man was about to retort but then noticed Helm staring at them. “And you have an opinion, friend?” he said to Helm.
Helm just smiled and raised his mug. “To both Magnus and Tytus, the greatest kings Reagul has ever known.”
The two men stared at him, not sure of what to make of his statement and then they responded as most drunk men with alcohol tended to do: They cheered and took another gulp from their drinks.
As Helm looked around the room, he started to wonder if there was some kind of blacksmith convention happening, because another one was seated next to him, nursing a drink of his own.
"I tell you," said the drunk smith. "That beast done taken a whole side of me' blade, and he not even flinch. If not for me' flameboy, I'd a been a meal for the creatures evil."
Helm bought him another drink. "What kind of beast are you talking about?"
The smith stared at him with eyes open wide. "A stranger you is? Not know of the beast? Seek a cleric, or seek your death." With that said, the smith moved on down the bar to find a familiar face, preferably one with a soft, feminine face.
Helm was about to search out another source of information when he felt a tug on his cloak. He turned around to see two members of the Guardians of Begmire. "Are you the warrior Helm?" said one of them.
He nodded his head yes, preparing to draw his sword. He had been in towns where the law didn't like warriors, and he wasn't about to be caught by surprise again.
"Well met, friend,” said one of the Guardians. “The baron wishes to have your company.”
"The baron? Are you sure he wants me?"
The Guardian nodded. "Will you come with us?"
"Of course," he said, standing up. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?"
The Guardians led Helm to the keep on the southern edge of the city. The guards on the entrance let the small group into the stone fortress. Following the castle path deeper into the complex, they came to a check point that led to the baron's personal chambers. Once the chamber guards opened the massive doors,
Helm was left alone in the heavily carpeted chamber.
As the chamber doors slammed shut, Helm took a look around the place. There were embroidered tapestries on all of the walls, each one of them depicting a special battle during one of the many wars fought by the barons that inhabited the place. There were plush recliners throughout the room, one of which Helm chose and sat down on.
Several minutes later, an inner door opened to reveal a tall man in a black cloak. He crossed the room to where Helm was seated. Quickly, Helm stood up and waited for instructions; he was not used to acting around royalty, and he didn't want to mess it up on his first time.
"I am Baron Darius Pulcher," he said as he took a seat across from where Helm had stood up. "I have been wanting to meet you since my Guardian told me you were in my city."
Slowly, Helm took his seat again. "Baron, it is an honor to be in your city, but I do not know why you would want to see me."
A smile came to Baron Darius's face. "Your modesty is fresh, but not needed."
Helm said nothing. He didn't know what the baron wanted from him, and he didn't want to disappoint him, but then again, he didn't want to offer something that was beyond his capabilities.
"I understand that you travel with a woman," said the baron. "Is that correct?"
"Yes, sir," he said, offering nothing more.
"I also understand that she goes by the name Evina. Is that also correct?"
He nodded his head yes. "That is her name."
Baron Darius took a deep breath and held it for a couple of seconds before he let it out. "Is she the Evina that legends continue to tell us about?"
"I do not know, sir," said Helm. "I have traveled with her for several years, but I have not had much time to listen to any legends."
"Very careful, aren't you, young man? Well, the legends tell us that she once fought against the Dark One and won. She is also reputed to have been trained by Sarbonn himself."
"From what I understand, those legends are true."
"So, it is she?"
He nodded his head again. "She is a remarkable woman."
"But how can she still be alive? Sarbonn lived hundreds of years ago. Only sorcerors are known to live that long." He thought to himself for a moment. "Is that it? Is she a sorcerer?"
"I can't even begin to explain the powers she has," he said.
"But how can she be a sorcerer? I thought all sorcerers were men."
A smile came to Helm's face. "I’m a pretty brave man, but I don’t think I’d ever imagine telling her that? You wouldn’t be the first, or last, man to regret making that statement to her."
"How powerful is she?" said Baron Darius.
Helm stared at the baron for a long time before speaking. "I know this is going to sound disrespectful, but why do you want to know?"
Baron Darius stared at him before the smile became wider. "Any other man would have told me anything I asked him. Her power over you must be quite strong."
"It is not power," said Helm. "It is love."
"Love?" said Baron Darius. "But I thought sorcerers couldn't perform the act. So how is love possible?"
"Sorcerers cannot perform the act with mortals," said Helm. "However, she can love another sorcerer."
Baron Darius's eyes opened wide. "You? You are a sorcerer?"
He nodded his head yes.
"But you're a swordsman," he said. "Sorcerers have no use for weapons. How can you be both a swordsman and a sorcerer?"
"Evina found me while I was learning to be a swordsman. She had fought the Dark One for the first time and was exhausted. When I took her into my home, she discovered there was a trace of the power within me. Since then, she has been trying to drag it out of me. I have been her eye whenever she has exhausted herself. In return, I have been her apprentice in all things magic."
"So, you’re an apprentice," said Baron Darius. "I know very little about those who wield magic. I always thought sorcerors were born, not found."
"That is how the legend speaks," said Helm, "but as mortals we've never experienced sorcery to know what any type of sorcerer is. However, in my short time as an apprentice, I have learned to do things that you wouldn't believe. Plus, my experience as a swordsman has served as a great weapon whenever my training has fallen short."
"This is wonderful," said Baron Darius. "I have been looking for someone with the power for so long."
Helm's eyes turned suspicious. "Why?"
"I am sure that you have heard stories of the beast that has been attacking our city," said Baron Darius.
"I've heard rumors," he said. "Not stories."
"The rumors are real," said the baron. "Many of my knights have died in mortal combat against this evil beast. Only one of my knights has lived, but he was driven insane by the battle." He bowed his head and closed his eyes. "He was my greatest knight, the champion of the baroness."
"What kind of beast is this?" said Helm.
"It is a vicious creature that comes out of nowhere and destroys anything out in the open. It sucks the blood from its victims and rips the man's limbs from his body. It is a creature of pure evil, surely an ally of the Dark One."
"Why do you want someone with the power?"
"My greatest warriors have failed," said the baron. "I believe that it is a creature of magic. Therefore, a creature of magic is needed to destroy it. Evina, being such a wizard, could do it."
"Well, actually, she's not a wizard. She is a sorcerer."
"What's the difference?" he said, a wearied look on his face.
"A wizard works simple magic. A sorcerer is aligned with the world, and uses the world against his or her enemies. I can tell you that Evina is very personal about such distinctions."
"Do you think she would help?"
He thought about it for a moment. "Evina is on her rest stage. She must rest for at least a week before she will be able to perform sorcery again."
"A week?" said the baron. "We don't have that much time. I need her now."
"You cannot ask her to fight now," said Helm. "When Fireme fell to the Dark One, she used every bit of her magic to hide the escape of the citizens. The Dark One knew she was there, and he is looking for her. If she uses her magic before her rest, he is sure to find her and destroy her. She cannot face him unless she is at full strength."
"Then we are lost," said the baron.
"What do you mean?" said Helm. "Surely the beast has been attacking for longer than a week. I'm sure another week won't hurt. Evina would probably be glad to help once she is back to full power. And you’ll have my sword as well."
He shook his head slowly. "Unfortunately, when the beast fought the baroness's champion, it gave Begmire two days of freedom. That was yesterday. Tomorrow, the beast is to destroy the city."
"Tomorrow?" said Helm. "Why so soon?"
"I think my knight injured it. The beast is no longer content with scaring the people. It wants to destroy us, and it is no longer satisfied with taking peasants on the outskirts of the city."
"I can talk to Evina, but I don't think she will reconsider. While Begmire might be important to you and your people, she is of a different order. It is sometimes hard to get her to even recognize that mortals need assistance, too."
The baron thought about it for a couple of seconds. "I would understand if she did not help us. As the enemy of the Dark One, she cannot afford to be defeated before defeating him. If he is left alone without any balance, he will destroy the entire realm."
Helm nodded slowly. "I will talk to her."
"I cannot," she said. "If I should use my powers against this beast, the Dark One is sure to come and challenge me. I cannot possibly handle the Dark One without being defeated. You know what that would mean."
"But we cannot allow this city to be destroyed by some creature," said Helm. He stared at her, watching her breathe in slowly as she remained still on the quilt of the bed, almost not even acknowledging him. He had seen her like this before. It was her meditation phase, and there was no way for her to break from the stage until she was finished. To do so would mean damage to her system, causing months of backlash before she could recharge her magic energy again.
Her eyes opened slightly. "How do you know that this creature isn't some manifestation of the Dark One?"
"I don't," he said, "but I don't sense him. That has to mean something."
Her eyes closed again. "It does. I don't feel him either, but I do sense that he is coming closer."
"I thought he would go east," said Helm. "I thought the king's castle was his goal."
"It is," she said, "but he also senses me. As long as I am alive, he knows he cannot claim the castle."
Helm took a deep breath. "Honey, what is the Dark One?"
"It is evil of a magnitude you could never imagine," she said.
"I've heard you say that before," he said, "but what exactly is it?"
She opened her eyes again. "To be honest, I don’t really know exactly what the Dark One is. Sarbonn knew what it was, and Chandlin once told me that Sarbonn once tamed it, but wouldn’t elaborate. This was during the early wars when Sarbonn was still a young sorceror."
"Who was Sarbonn?" said Helm.
She allowed herself a smile. "He was a sorcerer who received his powers from the gods themselves. He was responsible for defeating Walner, the evil sorcerer who he had also trained. Unfortunately, unknown to Sarbonn, Walner had trained a young noblewoman named Ennia in sorcery. She was the reason why the world was thrown into chaos during the Reckoning. Every child of the realm knows that gruesome story. My understanding is that during this war, Ennia found the Dark One and awakened it. The rest of the history is kind of hazy, as no one I have ever met has been able to fill in those gaps. All I know is that the Dark One remained hidden for a long time before he finally appeared, and then everything kind of went to cinders."
"But how come it took so long for the Dark One to come out of hiding?" said Helm. "Sarbonn died hundreds of years ago."
"Legend has it that Ennia taught the Dark One restraint, something Walner never had. It is through that restraint that the Dark One has become as powerful as it is now."
"You once promised to tell me about Sarbonn. What was he like? Was he as vicious as the legends report?"
She smiled again. "Sarbonn was a loving father."
"Father?"
She nodded. "Not physically, but he adopted me when he discovered that I had developed the power on my own without the need of proper training. It was through his assistance that I became as powerful as I am now." The smile grew brighter. "He never told anyone that he was training me, not even his star pupil, Chandlin." She thought to herself for a moment. “Sarbonn often kept things from us, things that were extremely important but he felt would cause problems if we knew. His secrecy often became very difficult to handle. To this day, I still don’t know why he sought me out in the first place. I always suspected there was something more than him recognizing the power in me and then seeking me out because he sensed it from some location far away. Whenever I spoke to him, I could always tell that he had something on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn’t quite willing to give it up yet. It was so frustrating dealing with him sometimes. It’s why I relished my time with Chandlin. At least he was upfront with me.”
"Chandlin the Bright?" said Helm. "You’re talking about legends of Reagul history as if they’re Cousin Julius."
She nodded again. "Chandlin was an adept when I was just finishing my training. I went to visit Sarbonn once when he was out. I entered the tower, believing the presence of magic I sensed was Sarbonn's, not realizing it belonged to Chandlin. Chandlin thought my power was obviously that of Walner, even though Walner was dead at this time. Before I could explain why I was there, I was attacked by him."
"You were attacked by Chandlin the Bright? What happened?"
"He defeated me," she said. "It wasn’t even a fight. His magic incapacitated me, and I could not do anything but create a shield around me to prevent him from destroying me. If Sarbonn had not arrived when he did, Chandlin would have killed me without even knowing we were on the same side."
"So, what happened?"
"Sarbonn finally explained to Chandlin that I was his secret student. Chandlin never forgave himself for that unfortunate accident."
"Whatever happened to Chandlin? The bards sing of how he went back to the gods, but I’ve often wondered how they would know that without seeing it for themselves."
"During the years of peace, Chandlin kept having visions in the fire of another world. He kept seeing a great kingdom of honor, of great battles. When he went off on his quest, he disappeared and was never seen again. I think he found that other world."
"Visions in the fire?" he said.
"That is not for you yet," she said. "You have much training left before you'll be ready for that."
"Will I ever be a great sorcerer?" he said.
"That is not the question," she said. "You must ask yourself if you will be a good sorcerer. There are no great sorcerors. There is only good and evil. Great is measured by the good you do."
He nodded. "What about the beast?"
"I cannot fight it. If Chandlin was still in Reagul, I could risk the fight, but he is not here. You have decades of work before you will be ready to face him, even though you tend to have more power than I've ever encountered before."
"Will I be able to defeat the Dark One?"
"He is powerful, but you have an equal amount of power, if not more. He is fast, but you have proved your dexterity many times before in contests with your sword." She smiled. "He is intelligent, but you're dumb as a rock. Therefore, I think he'll win."
A smile came to Helm's face. "I should have expected such a comment from you. If I didn't love you so much, I'd turn you into a frog."
She smiled back at him. "Unfortunately, that's the only spell you've perfected so far." She allowed herself a quick chuckle, and then her face turned serious again. “There is something you need to know about the Dark One. I mentioned I have fought him before, but that’s not completely true.”
He stared at her. She had never lied to him before, and it was now sounding like she was admitting just that. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I did defeat him, but he’s not like a normal foe.”
“I don’t understand,” said Helm.
“He is extremely powerful, so powerful that his essence inhabits the bodies of others, so that even when you defeat him, you don’t actually completely defeat him. His real power remains elusive, and he rests for awhile, and then he comes back again as yet another manifestation.”
“Then how do you kill him?”
“The answer to that question still eludes me,” she said. “I suspect that eventually we’ll have to find where his real corporal body is and then defeat it. But so far, we’ve only ever encountered those he has possessed. But those he possesses are still extremely powerful. Andi when that creature is defeated, he is gone for a long period of time before he able to gain the energy to come back again.”
“That sounds impossible to defeat,” said Helm.
“No,” she said. “All science has a solution. You just have to find the answer to this riddle and then carry out the solution.”
He thought to himself for a moment. "If you cannot defend the city, I have to try."
She sat up in bed. "What?"
"I cannot sit back and let this evil creature destroy the city. I might not be a powerful sorcerer, but I am a powerful warrior. Perhaps my sorcery might be the edge I need that the knights didn't have."
"You cannot," she said.
"Why not?" he said. "If I die, you can still fight the Dark One."
"You are the future of me," she said. "When you are fully realized, you will be even more powerful than me."
"What?" he said. "You never told me that."
"I didn't want you getting too cocky," she said. "You have more power within you than you can possibly imagine. I've never felt such power, not since the days of Sarbonn."
He thought about her words for a couple of seconds before he spoke again. "I'm sorry. I must do this."
"You are a sorcerer. You must be able to look over the deeds of humanity for the greater battles."
"Please understand," he said. "I love you very much. I would do anything you told me to. But I am still partially mortal; I cannot ignore my fellow mortals when I might be able to do something to help them."
"But didn't you tell me that they sent out their knights? You said their best knight went insane. I don't want that happening to you."
"It is a risk I must take," he said.
She said nothing for a couple of seconds. "I understand, but I don't want you do go."
"Please give me your permission," he said.
"Why do you need my permission?" she said. "You are going to go anyway, aren't you?"
"You are still my mistress in sorcery. I took a vow to follow your orders before receiving your training."
She thought to herself for a long time. "Go. You would never forgive me if I forced you to stay."
"Thank you," he said as he reached up and kissed her hand. Before she could say anything to make him change his mind, he left the inn to prepare for his mission.
Baron Darius accepted Helm's offer to fight the beast, but he refused to allow him to do it without assistance. After a long negotiation, Helm agreed to go out with one of the baron's Guardians. To Helm's amusement, the Guardian turned out to be the man who had originally let him in through the main gate of Begmire. As the two of them were escorted by the baron's elite guard to the main gate, the Guardian did not appear too pleased with his assigned mission.
On the main road, the Guardian halted his horse and looked back at the city of Begmire. "I never thought I would have to leave the city for such a worthless task," he said.
"What makes you think this mission is worthless?" said Helm. "We're trying to save your city."
"The last knight sent out returned with the intelligence of a fruit plant. Is that what's in store for us."
"We're going to destroy the beast," said Helm.
"How come the woman is not with us? She could destroy it with a wave of her hand."
"She is resting."
"Resting? I could be resting right now! What makes her so special?"
"She is a sorcerer," he said.
"And we're dead." A thought came to him. "We never did get our chance to clash swords."
"We will after we defeat the beast," said Helm.
A smile came to his face. "Then we will never cross swords. We will die once we meet with the beast. You know that as well as I do."
Helm said nothing as the two of them continued down the road. After a couple of miles, Helm turned back to the Guardian who was following close behind him. "Where are we to meet this beast?"
"It will find us. It always does."
Helm sighed. Whipping the reigns, his horse moved forward again, but stopped a second later as a loud wail could be heard through the trees. The wail continued for several seconds before rustling could be heard in the bushes, and something started moving towards them.
"The beast!" said the Guardian. "It is coming for us!"
Helm pulled the sword from his sheath and hopped off his horse. Looking forward in the direction of the moving bushes, he readied his sword and motioned for the Guardian to join him at his side.
"No way, swordsman. I'm staying on my horse. If that thing's going to attack me, it's going to get a mobile warrior to fight."
"As you wish," said Helm as he moved forward.
He only made it a couple of meters before the trees before him ripped aside to reveal a scaly, black creature that stood the height of five men. As it breathed, steam came from its mouth, its teeth revealing dried blood of creatures it had devoured while still alive. "Mortal!" screamed the creature. "Prepare to die!"
"It speaks," said the Guardian as he aimed his horse in the direction of the beast.
"Two knights?" said the beast with a cackling laugh. "So much the better. I could use a real meal before I devour your city."
Before Helm could say anything, the Guardian charged at the beast with his horse. Halfway to the creature's position, the eyes of the creature erupted in flame and the Guardian's horse exploded. The Guardian fell to the ground and hit his head against a tree. Trying to get up, he went woozy and then lost consciousness.
Now, it was one on one.
"So, mortal, it is just you and me!" said the beast.
"What are you?" said Helm as he shifted the sword from hand to hand, keeping his fingers nimble and ready to strike.
"I am the Beast of the Dark One," it said. "I was created to destroy your cities."
"Then prepare to die," said Helm.
The beast started to laugh again. "Because of anything you might do? If your friend couldn't do anything, what makes you think you'll be able to?"
Helm rushed at the beast with his sword raised. Halfway to the beast, he saw the beast's eyes start to glow again before the erupted in flame. Willing a shield of power around him, the explosion appeared around his shield and then dissipated.
The beast stared at him with eyes opened wide. "You have the power!"
Helm continued forward, closing the distance to the beast. Once within striking distance, he swung his sword and cut into the beast's stomach, making a deep cut as he did. The beast roared in pain, but moved back from him.
As Helm moved forward again, the beast swung its large arms and hit him in the head, knocking him on his back. However, as the beast moved forward at him, he leaped back up to his feet and brought his sword up again. The beast reached him as he stabbed forward, placing a jab into the beast's chest. The beast fell back again in pain, but moved forward at the same instant. Helm leaped to his side as the beast charged at him. Before the beast could turn on him, he swung and chopped the beast at the neck.
The beast, bleeding from three serious wounds, turned back to Helm and started to draw in his power. He was going to give everything he had to the mortal who dared to attack him.
As the beast drew in his power, Helm willed in his own power, continuing to draw in more even after he reached the point that he usually felt safe to stop at. He realized that he was risking his own survival if his willed power got out of control, but he knew that he would need more than he usually used. He just didn't know how much he could hold.
As the beast finished willing in his power, he realized that Helm was still willing in more power. "You are not mortal, are you?" the beast said. The beast continued to stare as Helm continued to draw in more and more.
After a couple of more seconds, the beast realized that his little show of force was going to be dissipated once it made contact with Helm's will. To show his belief in his own demise, he turned and ran from Helm, convinced that Helm's own will was going to collapse on him. However, he only made it a couple of feet before the full brunt of Helm's force came rushing at him. The beast turned around to see the red light of force, and then he exploded upon impact.
The explosion knocked Helm to the ground, but it was strong enough to kill the beast. As he stood up, he examined the damage, realizing that the creature was not going to get up again. Walking over to the Guardian, he brought him up to a seated position and rested him up against the side of a tree. "Are you all right?" he said to the Guardian.
The Guardian looked up at him. "The beast?"
"Dead," he said.
The Guardian's eyes opened wide. "You killed it?"
"I guess we can clash swords now if you like," said Helm.
The man looked at him and shook his head no quickly. "Not with you. You've proved your point."
As Helm pulled the Guardian to his feet, he felt a hot wind at his back. Turning around, the trees of the woods parted again to reveal a bright red light. Once the light disappeared, there was a man standing in the illumination, the trees still parted away from him as if in homage.
"Who is that?" said the Guardian as he backed up to the tree.
"I think I know," said Helm as the man walked forward, drawing in his will as he did. "It's the Dark One."
The Guardian stepped aside. "The beast you could handle, but not the Dark One."
"You!" screamed the Dark One as he pointed his hand at Helm, fire shooting from the finger as he tried to hold in his anger. "You have the will. What did you do to my child!"
Helm walked towards the Dark One, keeping himself in front of the Guardian so the Guardian would not be involved in the fight. "I destroyed it," said Helm. "It was endangering the city."
"So," said the Dark One, "your path has already been chosen. You have chosen good."
"Yes," said Helm.
"And your master," he said. "Who has taught you the will?"
Helm took a deep breath. "I am a student of Evina."
The man's eyes opened wide as fire erupted all around him. "Evina the Bitch? How dare you follow her! She is but a petulant child!"
"She defeated you," said Helm, even though he had a good feeling that that was not the wise thing to say.
More fire erupted from the man. "I did not expect such a fight from a woman. I will never make that mistake again."
Helm drew in his will and started to move forward. "Well, Dark One, I am not a woman."
"No," he said as his will continued to draw in at an amazing rate, a rate that Helm had never experienced, even when around Evina. "You are no woman. You are but a child."
Placing a shield around himself, he moved forward still, hoping to reach the sorceror before the man began the fight. Once close enough, he knew he could use his sword, a true weapon to a warrior.
When he was only a couple of meters away, the Dark One released a full charge at him that ripped into his shield and knocked him back to the ground. Standing up quickly, he rushed at the sorceror and swung his sword at him. As his sword connected, he slashed through a make-shift shield and into the shoulder of the man. He drew blood from the wound.
The Dark One reached back and felt his wound, realizing that the sword had connected. "What blaspemy is this? You are a sorceror! You cannot use a weapon!"
"I am only an apprentice," said Helm as he charged at the Dark One again. Before the Dark One could defend himself, Helm crashed the blade against the sorceror's right arm, disabling the limb as he did. Before he could raise the blade again, he felt the will of the sorceror charge and rip into him, tearing his personal shield into shreds. He fell back to the ground and felt another force rip into him, keeping him from standing back up.
"No, not again," said the Dark One. "You will die now. No one has ever injured me like this. No one!"
He moved forward and aimed the hand of his uninjured limb at Helm's head. "Draw in any will you wish, little warrior," he said. "It will do you no good. I will destroy your defenses and rip your head into a million pieces. Please defend yourself. It will make me feel even better to have completely destroyed you."
Helm tried to stand, but the force of the Dark One's will was too much for him. Try as he did, he could only draw in a minimum of power, knowing it would not be enough to stop the force that was about to rip him to shreds.
"No!" screamed a voice from a short distance towards the city gate. As the Dark One turned to face the voice, he realized he recognized the figure coming towards him. "Evina?"
Ignoring Helm, the Dark One walked towards Evina and smiled. "You are weak. I can feel it. Your power is almost completely gone."
As the two sorcerors closed distance together, the Dark One drew in every ounce of his power and stacked it on itself until he had more power than he had ever used before. "You will not live through this one," he said to Evina.
Evina continued to move forward, not even drawing in on her own power.
This surprised the Dark One, but he figured she was probably completely out of power and unable to draw anything. From the lack of power she was giving off, he was surprised that she was still able to walk.
As he came close enough to release his power, he sent it forward and had it explode on her. For a full ten seconds, there was nothing but flames and light. Once it all cleared, she was still there, as if nothing had happened. "How can this be possible?" said the Dark One. He drew in his power again and sent the charge out at a different wavelength. It connected again and exploded.
When it cleared, Evina was still there. However, her figure flickered for an instant and then disappeared. "An illusion?" he said, not believing his eyes. "A simple parlor trick?"
From behind one of the trees further back Evina came out of hiding. This figure, however, had a lot of power coming from it. "Well, my old friend, it appears that you have been outsmarted by me again."
The Dark One drew in his will, even though he was very low in power, drained from his attack on the illusion. "I still can destroy you, and I will."
"Think again, Dark One," said Evina as she stood before him and made no attempt to draw in her own will.
The Dark One realized something was going on, but couldn't figure out what it was until it was too late. When he figured it out, he felt the sharpness of the blade as it sliced through his neck, taking his head off of his shoulders. As he died, he realized that he had allowed his defenses to slip when he had gone against Evina; Helm was able to walk up to him from behind and chop off his head as if it was nothing to him.
Helm stood over the dying body of the Dark One and looked it over. As he did, Evina walked over to him with the Guardian. She smiled. "I felt his presence. I had to come."
He took her in his arms. "Without you, I would have died."
She hugged him tight. "I could never allow that." With that, she collapsed in his arms, her strength completely gone from the illusion she was forced to maintain during the fight.
Helm lifted Evina in his arms and carried her to his horse. Riding back, the Guardian followed close behind on foot until they reached the main gate of Begmire. Once within the gate, the Guardian reported to the baron about what had happened.
Helm, on the other hand, took Evina back to her room and let her sleep. She slept for four days before she was able to meditate for two weeks to get her powers back. After that, the two of them left the city, the baron showing up with a full parade to honor them. While much of what they did became legend, those present on that day remembered the adventure forever.
Helm and Evina, however, continued their travels, content that more adventures would befall them in due time. As was expected, more did. Such was the core of legends in the realm of Reagul.
THE END