The Prophecy Chapter Sixteen

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Chapter Sixteen: Plans

Back on Mithgar, Kris has been working with Kane for a little over a week. He had a desire to go to Arda, and begin his reign as Dark Lord. Lothiniel had no objections. Kane was not as enthusiastic, but agreed to open the portal to Mordor.

Early one morning, Kris and Lothiniel left Mithgar and found themselves in Mordor.

"Kind of barren," Lothiniel commented. "You know, my parents died here."

"Yes, you mentioned that when you joined the fight, whichever side you were actually on."

She grabbed hold of his hand. "Can we not talk about that? Technically, I did everything for you anyway. Except, I still haven't managed to fulfill my assignment."

He pulled his hand from her grasp. "We'll have to remedy that, won't we. He must not be allowed to summon the Mages."

"Yeah, I'll just walk into Gondor, and kill him. That will work real well, with all the guards they have."

"You will do what I tell you to do. You are no longer the boss after all."

"Okay. So, do you want me to go to Gondor? I mean, I don't even have Turbulentum anymore."

"How hard can one person be to kill? You're the assassin, you figure it out."

"There's a difference between killing people who are unprepared, and killing a Mage."

"He is not a Mage yet, and your assignment is to make sure he does not become one. You know this world better than I do. You know Gondor better than I do. You lived there, for nine years, as advisor to the King."

"Yes, and they all know me. They all know what I did."

"Are you afraid? If you're afraid, maybe you should go join them." Kris turned his back to her, and walked toward what looked like a set of barracks. "You will fulfill the assignment I gave you, or do I have to test you first? Go to Gondor, and prove to me that you are a capable assassin."

"Fine. I'll be back soon. Can I have a kiss for luck?" she asked, teasingly.

"No. If you succeed you might get one as a congratulations."

~*~

Kaje stood up and walked to the front of the room. "There is much to discuss this morning. What we saw yesterday was the beginning of the prophecy. It has begun and is now the time to be preparing for the worst. Two of us will not make it through this battle. We have already lost our good soldiers, and have been injured. Lothiniel is on her way to the city. She is coming here to fulfill her assignment. Her assignment is to kill you, Wesley. Everybody needs to keep their eyes open and be on guard at all times. We need to protect whatever is left of our city and our people."

"What are we do about the calling of the Mages," Eldarion asked him.

"Wesley will need to prepare quickly because our time is running out."

"How much time do we have?" Fairin asked.

"Kris is in his position as the Dark Lord. Joich and Leareth will have no other option to but to tell him how to call on the Dark Circle of Mages. He is unprepared, that will give us the upper hand. The only thing we will not be able to control is when he calls on the Circle. Knowing Joich, I am sure he will call on the Circle soon."

"How do you know Joich?" Vanidor asked.

Kaje walked over to Vanidor and sat down the edge of the table in front of him. "First, get rid of your attitude. Otherwise you will get yourself killed. Whatever grudges you are holding, get rid of them. As for me knowing Joich, we are old friends. I used to know him before he became a Dark Mage."

"I don't have an attitude that is unjustified," Vanidor said.

"Your beliefs of what happened are extremely skewed. You are the one that is guilty here, nobody else. Knock the attitude or I will have to confine you."

"I am not guilty of anything," Vanidor said.

Isethia stood up and faced him. "Yes, you are!" she exclaimed.

Kaje looked to Isethia. "This is not the place for this. I would advise the two of you to get rid of your anger. If you do not, other's lives will be at stake. I will not allow you to jeopardize our mission. If I have to, I will confine both of you in the same room."

Isethia sat back down, and looked straight ahead. "I just wanted the truth to be revealed, but I guess that can wait."

Kaje stood up and walked back to the front of the room. "The truth will come out, but not at this moment in time. I do not need all my fighters to be angry. Anger is what eats up the soul, and causes people to ignore those around them. The end result is death."

"Is that why they say that anger is of the dark side?" Lia asked.

"That is exactly why they say that," he replied.

Lia asked another question. "Father, during the battle, why was I compelled to step forward . . . and . . ."

"You were connecting with your other half. Yes, my dear child, the Two of the Two are together."

"What do you mean the Two of the Two are together?" Karia asked.

He smiled. "You and Cordelia are the two of the two."

"Explain that to me. I was not born on this continent. My aunts raised me in Minnesota."

"Dear child, you left Thardaos when you were young. A war had broken out and your mother wanted you to be safe. So, she gave you to your aunts, and they took you to Earth."

"What is Thardaos?" Calyna asked.

"It is the third continent to this world."

"Then what exactly do you we need portals for?" Tolar asked.

"Because we are surrounded by water. And they are the fastest travel method that we have."

"But I thought the two of the two had to be related. I mean, Kris and I were cousins, or I thought we were," Lia said. She had already heard about the continents, so she had been wondering about the part that surprised her.

"You and Kris were never related. Kris is Vanidor and Gildor's half-brother. Their mother, Lauralee, slept with Joich. She was seduced, and had to give the baby up to his girlfriend at the time. Because of this she had leave her children, and her husband behind. You are related to Karia and Kaelea. Karia's mother was your father's twin sister. Kaelea is Karia's half-sister, making her your cousin. Kaelea is also the Queen of Thardaos."

"Father, why didn't you tell me this before?" Lia asked.

"The timing was off. I had to wait until Karia and Kaelea were here."

"Did you know my . . . father?"

He looked at her. "I knew of your father. I did not know him personally. Your father died heroically. He saved his sister's life during the war. He died when you were three years old."

Before Lia could ask anymore questions, Vanidor said, "My mother did not sleep with Joich. I have met with her since she left, and she never told me that. She would not have lied to me."

"I am sorry to say that she did. She kept it from you for a good reason. You would have turned your back on her."

"Hmm . . . I guess Isethia is more like her than I realized. I mean my mother was a Herald, who was having an affair with someone." He turned to Gildor. "I guess that makes you like Father, then."

"Vanidor, I think it is high time the truth came out. You were the one who one had the affair. Not Isethia. You are the one who slept with Qiriel, and in order to hide it, you blamed Isethia. You are an endangerment to this group, and you will not fight in this war. I have had about enough of your charade. I am going to send you to Mithgar to see a mental healer. You will not return until you are completely healed. Leave my sight. I will send a guard."

A guard entered and escorted Vanidor out.

"So, Vanidor was having an affair with my girlfriend?" Fairin asked. "And to cover that up he accused my "sister" and I. Well, that makes him one of my favorite people."

"Why haven't you told me any of this? I mean, I have a sister and a cousin, and I am a Queen. This is a little too much to take in at one time."

"I thought you would have remembered by now. But your memories are just now beginning to come back to you."

Calyna said, "So all of this that you've said . . . Kris was part Elven, on his mother's side? But, he didn't look Elven, and I don't think he liked Elves very well."

"Yes, Kris is half-elven. He was raised to dislike our race, and the irony is that he is one of us."

"If he doesn't like Elves, why does he keep getting involved with them?" Cordelia asked.

"Because he is using them and making them feel less superior."

"I remember he used to say that Elves thought they were better than everyone else," Lia said. "When we came to live with you, he thought we were prisoners."

The door to the conference room opened. A cloaked figure walked into the room. The hooded figure took the hood down to reveal his identity. Luthan was standing in front of everything, in the flesh. Luthan lived again. Gasps went around the room.

"Welcome back, Luthan," Kaje stated.

"Thank you. It is good to be back."

Legolas stood, eyes wide. "Son. How . . .?"

"With the help of Wesley."

Legolas walked forward and embraced his son, tears streaming down his cheek.

"How is it possible that someone who died can just come back?" Calyna asked.

Luthan smiled. "Well, I had to a pay a price. I am now Human. I helped Wesley get over his ailment, that power as well as Wesley calling on my powers, brought me back."

Calyna looked over at him, as she tried to figure out how to say this. "But my sister. I had that dream. The two of you were together, there, and now she is alone. She died because she couldn't live without you, so why can't she come back too? She was my only family."

"She killed herself. That in its own right prevents her from coming back. I sacrificed my life to other's lives."

Kaje spoke again. "We have some other business we need to attend to. I know you are all looking forward to shunning Aravan, but there has been a new development. He has been controlled by a dark force for the past twenty-five years. Therefore the events that have occurred were not of his doing."

"And yet he admitted to having done those things," Fairin said.

"And I believe I told you that if there extenuating circumstances, nothing would happen. Aravan has suffered enough. He is stuck with the memories of what happened. That is punishment enough. Fairin, you already jumped to a conclusion, and personally shunned him. Nobody else, will be allowed to do so."

"You cannot take away the right to the personal shunning. That is an individual choice," Fairin said.

"The law says that I can."

"That isn't in the laws I know," Fairin said.

Isethia stood up, again. "Fairin, the law was changed to allow for extenuating circumstances, and to keep people from being punished if they were pressured into something. And this is the worst to have conflict without our group. I think you are the only who feels the way you do."

"So, what did he do to get you on his side? You are a Herald. You are not supposed to let people get away with the things he has done."

"A Herald's job is not to give punishment, but to ensure justice," Ayala said.

"Now is the time to discuss our strategy," Kaje said.

"What is our strategy?" Isethia asked, glad to be off the subject.

"We are going to leave the city and meet up with the rulers. There's all gathered in Thardaos. We will leave in groups, completely objective, and meet up in Thardaos at Kaelea's old village," Kaje said.

"Have the groups been decided yet?" Calyna asked.

"No. I figured I'd leave that up to you. But you must get my approval. Wesley, you will leave in the first group."

"I think every group should contain at least one person with power, either a Herald or a Mage. We have used that strategy before and it has worked," Ayala said.

"We only have four advanced magic-users and four Heralds. The Heralds will be of no use without a Mage, which means one group will go without either."

"But that doesn't get anything decided for how we organize our groups. I mean, we're all going to the same place, but I assume that we're taking different portals, right?" Lunea asked.

"We will take different portals and we will have different tasks. There will be five members to each group. You can discuss among yourselves who is going with who."

Conversation took over the room. Twenty minutes later it stopped.

Angel, Celendrea, Kaelea, Gildor, Adrianna, Eldrid, and Silverberry stood up.

Angel stepped forward and spoke first. "In my group, Wesley, Cordelia, Lia, myself, and Dakkon will travel together. We will be the first to leave. What is our assignment?"

Kaje nodded. "That is a great idea. You will leave through the Mantido Portal. The portal is located in Mordor. You will have to protect Wesley at all costs, and be discreet. Your mission is the hardest one. Wesley will not be able to use his powers while going through Mordor, Gron, Trellinath. That is half of the journey." Kaje noted.

Celendrea stepped forward. "I'm going with Celeborn, Legolas, Ayala, and Celebdhel. I guess we're leaving second."

"Your mission is not only to guard the Emerald Sameril, but to the find the Ruby Amulet of Chabba. To do this, you must go through the Karoo. The Karoo is a desert filled with nomadic people who hold a lot of hostility. They do not like us, our race anyway. It will take at least a week to get through the desert. You will leave in three days."

Kaelea stepped forward. "My group will consist of Fairin, Karia, Calyna, and Ayon."

"You will leave in five days. Your mission is to go to Riamon. There you will need to find a scroll, the Scroll of Kiernan. The scroll is located in the Greatwood. You will have to take the Doralla Portal. The portal is here at the edge of the city."

Gildor stepped forward. "I will be traveling with Isethia, Aravan, Ria, and Luthan."

Kaje sat at the edge of the table. "You will have to go to the Barrens located past the Steppes of Jord. You'll have to a few Black Mages, in order to retrieve the Dagger of Sakara."

Adrianna took two steps forward. "My group consists of my brother Tolar, Lunea, Elrond, and Haleth. We will leave fifth."

"You're mission is to go Valon. From there you will head to Caer Pendwyr. You will find the Ring of Odema in Hile Bay. You must take some gillyweed with you."

Eldrid stepped forward. "I'm in your group, along with Faedra, Elodin, and Morduilas."

"We are going to get the Chalice of Raspitin. The chalice is located in Kraggon-cor. We have to enter through the Dusk Door and take that about three mountains in and three chambers down."

Silverberry stepped forward. "I will be traveling with LeafRunner, Tamitha, and Edric."

Kaje stood up. "The only thing you have to do is find the Telm Sapphire. Soon as that is done, you can meet us in Magia. Now that we have all gotten our assignments, before you depart, you must come and see me for quick briefing. You guys are now dismissed."

As people began to leave, Fairin went to talk to Isethia. "Are you sure going with him is a good idea? I mean, after what he's done."

Isethia regarded Fairin, levelly. "It was not his fault. He was being controlled."

"You won't say that if he rapes you, like he has several other women," Fairin stated.

"He won't because he'll be under my supervision, for one. And two, the darkness has left him," Ria said.

"Darkness cannot leave someone once they have committed those actions. We are all letting him off too easily."

"You're just pissed off. Go take your anger out on somebody else, cause I will not be afraid to fight you."

"There is no one else here who deserves my anger. And how is it that he has never hurt you, when you have traveled with him all these years? You even admitted to knowing he was dark. Plus, I notice he has not said anything to defend himself."

"That is because he is receiving memories of the past twenty-five years and which had no control over."

"And you consider that a sufficient punishment for all he has done. For all he has done, he deserves one of the harshest punishments we can give. That is either the shunning or death."

"You're really starting to speak from your emotions instead of from your head. Like I said, he had no control over his actions. What part of that don't you understand, or are you just plain dumb?"

"At least I am not so foolish that I would stay with someone who is dark, just because I consider that person family. Especially if they are not really. You have no tie to him. He is not your real brother. You should leave while it is safe, or he will hurt you . . . like he has hurt others. How is it that he has not hurt you yet? Or did he?"

"You mean like he hurt Kaelea? Isn't that what this is all about? Him hurting your little girlfriend. Why don't you stick your nose where it belongs instead of in other people's business? You'd better watch your back, cause if you don't I'm sure something bad will happen to you."

"That is only part of what this is about. It is also about the countless others that he has hurt. Is that why he and Aylis are no longer together?"

"That's none of your goddamn business."

"It is the business of anyone on the good side to know about possible traitors." He turned to Isethia again. "Just be careful, if you really are going to go with him. I wish I could change your mind, jaian."

"Yes, well, you're not my boss. If Aravan and Ria have no tie to each other, than I have no tie to you. Yet you think you can order me around. Go take your overprotectiveness to someone who needs it! I don't anymore, and if I had realized that sooner, Resa would still be alive. And in the future, look for extenuating circumstances before you condemn someone. If I wanted to, I could order you to take back the shunning. I am a Herald after all."

Ria smiled.

"That was not what I mean," Fairin said. "I just want you to be safe. You have never minded being protected before."

"Yeah, well, I need to be able to take care of myself. And you need to stop acting this way before you become like Vanidor."

"Is that what this is all about?"

"No. I am angry at Vanidor. I am glad everyone knows the truth about what he was doing. However, I do not hate him. I would not condemn him, or have him punished. Kaje's actions were fair. Maybe, you need the same treatment or something, is that it? Just leave us alone, while you still have people willing to talk to you," Isethia said.

Ria smiled again.

Fairin walked away.

~*~

The leaders gathered for the briefing. These leaders sat at a round table.

"Is everybody clear on their mission? Now is the time to say yay or nay."

Isethia spoke up, "Are you allowed to ask other questions, other than just about the route we are to take and stuff like that?"

"Yes, this is a briefing."

"Sorry. I am not used to being the one to speak up. I need to mention something about someone in another group, actually, although you may be aware of this already."

"Fairin? I'm well aware, but it will die down."

"It is just that he reminded me of Vanidor a little bit. Also, I am a bit worried about someone from my group, but I'm not sure how to go into this."

"Aravan? There is no need to worry. He will not attempt anything. The evil is fair gone from him. And, yes, Aravan's soul is damaged, but it will not affect the mission."

"There are many who have damaged souls. That was what my role in the prophecy meant, wasn't it? That I was to help those whose soul's were damaged?"

"Yes."

"How long exactly do we have to do all this?" Wesley asked.

"Two months, between travel time and delays."

"What provisions do we take with us?" Legolas asked.

"I have made up a list for each of you, and these go by groups, not by individuals."

"When are all the groups leaving?" LeafRunner asked.

"Wesley's groups tomorrow; Legolas's group, three days; Karia's group, five days; Isethia's group, eight days; Lunea's group, twelve days; my group, fifteen days; and your group, twenty days."