Chapter 36
The Hermit
Snow clung to Sonya’s boots as she trumped after Dearekk through the snow-covered mountains. The formerly bad weather had now become an all out blizzard and Sonya could barely see the half-elf walking in front of her. It didn’t help that her clothing was definitely not fit for the weather. The jacket she had stolen on their way out of Raydale was sure not a fur coat.
“Do you see anything?” she nearly screamed over the howling wind for what seemed like the thousandth time. Grabbing her jacket, she pulled it tighter to herself, trying to retain some of her body heat. If they didn’t find some sort of shelter soon, they would both die in this One forsaken mountain.
Dearekk paused and looked around, causing Sonya to nearly run into him. Squinting through the snow, he raised his arm and pointed to something in the distance. “What’s that?” he yelled to her.
Peering through the dense fog of snow and sleet, Sonya saw a dim light glowing a ways away. Her eyes darted to Dearekk, to the light and then back again. “Survival,” was all she said before beginning to battle her way through the snow again.
A few times, either Dearekk or she would stumble and the other would have to catch them. Words of encouragement were whispered, giving her reason to press on. The snow that clung to Sonya’s boots began to feel like weights dragging her feet down, making it impossible to lift her feet above the snow.
At one point, Dearekk fell into the snow and did not move. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow and short. As Sonya leaned forward she noticed a thin layer of frost on his eyelashes and a blue tint to his lips.
“Dearekk,” she yelled, the wind screaming in her ears. “Dearekk get up, we have to keep moving!” Snow was already beginning to cover him, leaving a thin white blanket overtop of his body.
Shaking him, Sonya began to painc when he did not stir. A thought passed through her mind that she should just leave him, but she quickly shook it out of her head. He was her friend and she did not leave friends behind. Glancing over her shoulder, Sonya saw that the light was much closer than before. She hooked her arms underneath Dearekk’s shoulders, and began to drag him. Anyone could easily follow their trail, but Sonya doubted that any creature, human or inhuman, would dare traveling this far into the mountains.
After what seemed like hours, Sonya stumbled towards a cabin, glowing brightly amdist the snow. Dropping Dearekk, the elf staggered forward and began digging through the snow so she could open the door. Glancing down at her fingers, she realized that her gloves’ fingers had been torn off, leaving her with numb, frostbitten hands.
She quickly shook her head. If she didn’t free the door from the snow, a little bit of frostbite would be the least of her worries. Reaching for the doorknob, she jerked the door a few times before it became freed. As quickly as she could, she grabbed Dearekk’s arm and dragged him into the cabin, collapsing next to him as the wind slammed the door shut.
Black began to cloud her vision as everything went blury. The last thing she remembered was Dearekk lying next to her, his soft breathing echoing in her ears.
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A loud popping noise jerked Sonya out of her unnatural slumber. As she sat up, a blanket fell off of her form and she noticed the orange glow of a fire nearby, crackling joyfully despite the screaming wind outside.
At first her well-trained eyes missed the figure sitting in a rocking chair, gazing at her with intense eyes. But as soon as what she saw registered in her mind, her head jerked back faster than lightning.
An old man sat in a wooden chair, his hands folded in his lap. His head was balding, but a yellowish-white beard covered most of his mouth. His eyes were an amber color and they seemed to drill through the elf.
“I see you’ve awakened!” he said in a booming voice. “But your companion is still asleep. His blood still flows, though. I suggest you wake him.”
For a moment Sonya just sat there, wondering what in the One’s name was going on. She was sitting in a cabin, on a supposedly uninhabited mountain, with an old man who didn’t seem in the least bit angry that they had invaded his home.
“Y…you aren’t going to make us leave?” she asked, her voice sounding strange in her ears. This seemed almost too good to be true.
The old man eyed her for a moment. “You would be dead within an hour out in this blizzard. You must bring something powerful with you; the mountain feels threatened.”
Unconsciously, Sonya’s hand touched her side where she hid her knives and her eyes darted towards Dearekk’s tattooed arms. “We are simply travelers,” she lied, looking back at the old man.
A grunt drew Sonya’s attention away. Dearekk was sitting up, rubbing his eyes groggily. When he looked at the old man, his eyes hardened. “Who are you?” the half-elf asked harshly.
Quickly, Sonya slapped his arm. “Be nice,” she muttered. “We are in his house.”
Dearekk’s eyes never left the old man. “Answer the question,” was all he spat.
“I am nothing but a hermit,” the old man responded, a crooked smile gracing his lips.
Eyes narrowing, Dearekk studied the other man. “Is that right?” he asked in a tone that clearly said he didn’t believe a word the man was saying. “That’s all you are?”
The lopsided grin never left the hermit’s lips. “That is all you need to know.” Walking back to his chair, the old man sat down. “Now, let’s not lie to each other. We all know that you are not simply travelers.”
“And we all know that you are not simply a hermit,” Dearekk shot back harshly. His grey eyes were suspicious and angry. Something was wrong, Sonya knew that much. And despite his strange behavior, she was starting to understand why he was acting that way. Not only did Dearekk have especially good instincts since he received Ventar, but the fact that there conveniently was a cabin on the side of an uninhabitable mountain did make her a bit skeptical.
The hermit smiled a crooked smile. “Tell me your story,” he said. “And I will give you something you can’t live without.”
It was as if those words had set off a trigger in Dearekk. He suddenly jumped to his feet and as Ventar materialized in his hands, he took a step in front of Sonya. “Don’t trust him,” the half-elf hissed. “Those are the exact same words that the old woman said to me in Raydale.”
Slightly annoyed that he thought he had to protect her, Sonya pushed Dearekk out of the way, but quickly placed her hand on Otem, the Blades of Vermiculus. “Does he look possessed?” she snapped.
“The woman in Raydale looked like any other human,” Dearekk growled in a low voice. “We have to leave now.”
“And die in the blizzard?” letting out a harsh laugh, Sonya clenched her hands into fists. “We don’t have any other options, Dearekk! We have to stay.”
Looking back towards the hermit, she saw the old man starting at them with an amused expression. “If you two have finished your bickering, I have a question to ask.” When Sonya gave a curt nod, the hermit laughed and continued. “You called him Dearekk. You wouldn’t happen to be the Rebel Prince, now would you boy?”
Dearekk stiffened at the unwanted title. It was only when Sonya elbowed him that he answered with a curt, “Yes.”
An almost inhuman grin spread across the old man’s face. “So then you are the King’s son? I will make you a deal, children. I will tell you a story and in return you must each answer a question for me.”
“What are the questions?” Sonya asked warily. She did not want to make a deal for something she did not know.
The hermit never stopped smiling. “I will tell you when the time comes,” he promised. “Do we have a deal?”
“No,” Dearekk cut in. “Tell us what the questions are and then we will see.”
Letting out a laugh, the old man shook his head. “I will give you information that you can’t live without. I will give you your past. I will answer all your questions, and all I want is one for each of you.”
For a moment Dearekk looked like he was going to refuse again, but then Sonya spoke up.
“Deal.”
Whirling around, Dearekk looked like he was going hit her. “What?!” he hissed, venom in his voice. “How can you make a deal like that?”
“We need to know our enemy,” she shot back. “And I’m doing this for you. You can’t live your whole life not knowing who you are, Dearekk!”
In the time that they were bickering, the hermit had walked over and stirred the fire. Sitting in a different chair, he simply said, “Shall we begin?”
Trying to ignore Dearekk’s death glare, Sonya nodded.
“The King is a complicated man,” the old man began. His voice was like gravel crunching beneath Sonya’s boots; slightly scratchy and it almost reminded her of home. “He became what he is because he loved. He loved so deeply, and he lost so much it tore him apart.”
“How do you know this?” Dearekk spoke. He was leaning against the wood wall, refusing to sit down. Sonya on the other hand, had plopped down on the rug in front of the warm fire. As she gazed into the flames, she could almost see the hermit’s words creating images in the flames.
“I Know,” the old man said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“And what is Knowing?” Sonya dared ask. “I heard the Seer claim he had Knowledge many times, but I don’t quite understand it.”
Smiling at her kindly, the hermit spoke as if he were a father talking to a daughter, “The land of Zauluke is older than you could possibly imagine. As a way of never forgetting our mistakes, ancient knowledge is passed down through generations. To Know is simply to remember.” The hermit stroked his beard for a moment, “Now where was I? Ah, yes. The loss of the queen ripped the King’s mind to shreds. He ended up killing the fay and elf healers that were trying to save the queen. It was then that the King started down a dark, dark path.”
“You see, before the death of his beloved queen, the King was a good ruler. He had an uncanny ability to understand his people and the gift of speech. He could convince a manticore to dance in a ball gown if he wanted to. He was young and full of potential. During a summer masquerade, he met a young girl. But this girl did not hide behind a mask and a beautiful ball gown. Instead she hid behind stacks of dirty plates and a poor maid’s dress. The girl’s name was Roka and she was a servant.”
“As you may have guessed, the King fell in love with Roka. After many secret meetings and tests of love, they were eventually allowed to marry and a servant girl was made queen. Most would think that she simply desired power and an escape from her poor life; but she really did love her husband with all her heart. And he loved her. So when she died, the kingdom grieved, but the King went insane. He turned towards the goddess Night and her creatures. He asked for power to become invincible and immortal. Seeing how powerful of a tool this broken man could be, the Night gave him what he asked. It was thus that his campaign against the nations of non-humans began.”
“But before he could strike, a lowly captain named Kezek saw what was happening. His journey was much like yours, although much quicker. He raced to all the nations in a matter of days and begged for their allegiance to attack the King before he could annihilate the elves’ city. You may ask why a human man could care about the fate of elves? He loved one. Actually, she was your mother.”
Dearekk’s head jerked up, his eyes wide. Suddenly, he seemed much more interested in the story. “My mother?” he choked, his voice a mixture of shock and amazement. “Wha-“
The hermit raised his hand to cut off the half-elf. “What until I finish. Your questions will be all answered.” Gazing into the fire, he continued his story. “The plan was for Kezek to assassinate the King, and then have the elves and fay attack the castle once the King was dead. What the captain didn’t know was that the shadows had told the King of their plan. He walked into the castle that night, only to find a thousand guards marching out to destroy the Elf Colony they had discovered. Before the captain could warn the elves, he was thrown into prison on the charge of treason. A day later, a summoning from the King brought him to the throne room. It was there that Kezek saw the elf woman, whom he had married in secret, captured. A figure with a black hood was holding a knife to her throat. The King looked at Kezek and said, ‘Do you know this man?’ gesturing to the hooded figure. Kezek replied ‘No’ and the King said, ‘He is the Specter. He is my servant and he followed you to the Elf Colonies. You are the reason they died.’ The King then nodded to the Specter and he slit the elf woman’s throat.”
“It was said that Kezek’s scream could be heard in the fay city of Imperia. He struggled to reach his dying love, but the chains that bound him to the wall held him back. The captain watched as his wife fell to the ground in a pool of blood. The King then walked forward and whispered in Kezek’s ear, ‘Did you love her?” Numbly Kezek nodded. Then the insane man asked, ‘Do you want to kill me? Do you want revenge?’ Once again, Kezek confirmed this. ‘Then you have become just like me,’ the King declared and ordered a public execution. Before he was dragged back to his cell, Kezek found his voice once last time. ‘Where is my son?’ he screamed. ‘What have you done with my son?’ The King simply told him that his precious son was killed with the rest of the elves in the Colony.”
Tears were overflowing in Dearekk’s eyes. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked in a quite voice. When the hermit didn’t respond, he screamed it. “WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?”
The hermit’s voice had gone soft. “Because the King was lying. He let Kezek go to his grave thinking that his son was dead. But in reality, the King’s wife had died in childbirth, along with the baby. The King simply took Kezek’s child and raised him as his own. You were that child.”
“So I am the son of a traitor,” Dearekk replied numbly.
The hermit shook his head. When he spoke he sounded tired as if a great amount of energy had been taken out of him by telling the story. “No, not a traitor,” he said in his scratchy voice. “A revolutionary.”
(A/N HEY!! I am super, super, super sorry for the month long wait!! I was seriously writing this chapter over the course of two to three weeks! It was definitely rough. Also I’ve been having some issues in my personal life that delayed this chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will be up before December, Lol XD. So, yeah. A bit of Dearekk’s background in there [hopefully that cleared up his past a ton and gave you a bit of information on the King]. Once again I’m super sorry for the long wait and will try better next time!! Remember to vote and comment!! I love all that feedback :)
~*~*~Ninja Out~*~*~)