CHAPTER 10
AN: Here it is, chapter 10! Thank you all so much for the continued support of this blog, I really do appreciate it more than I could ever convey. I hope you all enjoy this one!
Ganlin held on to the stranger’s hand tightly as they pulled him along, sticking to the shadows along the wall surrounding the courtyard.
Ganlin’s hairs stood on end as he was pulled along. His heart was beating so hard Ganlin was worried that a guard might hear it. The sky was clear, with all three moons high above, their lunar light shining down onto the world.
The stranger stopped, and Ganlin followed suit.
They had followed the walls up to the main gate, freedom laying on the other side. On either side of the gate were two doors, facing opposite each other, both shut. Ganlin’s heartbeat picked up as the stranger kept him in place, the waiting making him more nervous.
Eventually, a group of guards came from the main keep and walked through one of the doors. When the door closed, the stranger led Ganlin to right next to the door. A few minutes later, the door opened again, a different trio of guards coming out, all talking to each other.
Ganlin’s arm was pulled sharply as the stranger dragged him through the door before it could close, somehow evading the attention of all three of the guards.
Inside the wall, the stranger led Ganlin up a flight upstairs and to another door, this one slightly ajar. Just wide enough for someone to slip through, Ganlin thought.
The stranger pulled him along, and Ganlin shimmied through the narrow opening.
They were on the top of the wall, now, and all along it, guards stood. Each guard stood facing inwards, looking down on the courtyard to insure that no prisoner was escaping, from time to time looking over the other side of the wall, to see if anyone was approaching the prison.
The stranger led Ganlin in a straight line, waiting for guards to cross from one side of the wall to the other before moving forward.
Once they were close to one of the corners, the stranger stopped again, speaking to Ganlin in a low whisper, their voice very close to his ear.
“Do you have any experience in climbing, Ank’haran?”
Ganlin shook his head; Ank’hara was mostly sand dunes, meaning one didn’t have to climb very often, if at all. Some areas of the desert had large rocks that stood out from the sand, but Ganlin had never climbed them as he had simply never seen a reason to.
“If you’re trying to answer without speaking, Ank’haran, I can’t see it. Speak.” The stranger spoke again.
Remebering that the stranger’s strange concoction had made Ganlin’s body disappear, he spoke in as low a whisper as he could manage.
“No. I never had to before.”
The stranger said something that Ganlin thought was probably an expletive of some kind.
“Alright, well. You can’t see me, so you can’t follow my lead, but I’ll do my best to guide you before we start going down.”
The stranger moved his hand to a certain part of the wall. “I’ll climb down first, you wait a couple seconds and then start moving down as well. Start off with your left hand right where I have it now, then swing your legs over, and put your right hand here.” The stranger slid his hand down to a different part of the wall. “Then let yourself fall off the wall without letting go of it. Move your feet around a bit and you should be able to find parts of the wall that stick enough for you to place them. Maybe look before you start coming down, see if you can notice any ahead of time. Then move your hands as far down as you can. One at a time, of course. Then move your legs again, and keep doing that until you’re back on the ground. If you need to, you can probably jump once you’re about halfway down the wall, just try to roll as you hit the ground. Good luck.”
With those words, Ganlin felt the stranger let go of his hand, and heard the subtle sound of scraping stone as they began making their way down the wall.
Ganlin waited a few seconds, then took a deep breath as he followed the strangers instructions, grabbing two different parts of the wall and swinging his legs over. His body hung in the air as Ganlin swung his legs around, trying to find a place to put his feet.
Eventually his feet scraped against a part of the wall that stuck out from the rest of it. Ganlin settled his weight onto it, then reached down with one of his hands to look for another spot.
Ganlin’s descent was achingly slow, finding places to put his feet and hands was difficult, at times Ganlin would begin settling his weight on one part of the wall, but then he would feel it shift, and he’d have to pull back from it and find a different perch. Bit by bit, Ganlin managed to make his way farther down the wall, letting himself drop when he was about half his height away from the ground. Once he landed, the stranger spoke again.
“You made it? Good. Now head for the tree line, directly in front of us.”
Ganlin did as he was told, crouching as he snuck forward to the trees.
Hiding behind one of them, Ganlin let out a large sigh of relief as he sagged against the wood. All of the muscles in Ganlin’s body softened as he allowed himself to rest, he unclenched his jaw, having never realized he had begun clenching it at any point.
He was out. Free from Silvirtharn. His body began shaking as he felt a smile come to his face. He almost laughed, stopping himself so he didn’t reveal himself.
Freedom was his! He still had to deal with whatever the stranger you saved him wanted, but he was finally free from Silvirtharn, and would finally be able to make good on his oath to Madelna and the other peoples of that small village. Ganlin tried to run his hand through his hair, but misjudged where his hand was, poking himself in the eye.
“Ow!”
As he gently rubbed his eye better, Ganlin heard the swishing of some of the grass. The stranger spoke to him.
“Are you here, Ank’haran?”
They asked.
“Yes, I am. Thank you for your help.” Ganlin replied.
The space in front of Ganlin shimmered and smoked, the air peeling itself back around itself to reveal the stranger.
Ganlin’s guess was confirmed; it was one of the strangers he had seen. They stood at about half a head taller than Ganlin, and their face had soft features, with a nose that gently sloped back up towards the sky. They wore robes that were tightly bound over the rest of their clothes. A necklace of strange objects hung around their neck.
“Your thanks are unnecessary, Ank’haran. Follow me, my master would like to speak with you, and we can tend to your wounds at our camp.”
The thought of not following flashed across Ganlin’s mind, but his wounds did ache, and it would be easier to travel if they were healed, so he followed the stranger.
They made their way through the forest, the trees blocking out most of the moonlight, Ganlin following the stranger’s silhouetted figure. As they walked, Ganlin realized that he was able to see his body again as it slowly became more and more visible.
Ganlin slowed as the stranger came to a stop, rapping their knuckles against the closest tree in a way that sounded almost like a song. A few seconds later, a similar sound came from a bit farther ahead, finishing the song the stranger’s knock had started.
The stranger stood up straighter, seeming to relax a bit, then walked forward, pushing aside the branches of two trees that had grown so close to each other that they seemed to have become one. Ganlin followed them.
Ganlin stepped through the branches into a small clearing, where a small fire gently crackled in the centre.
The other two figures who occupied the clearing were the other two strangers who had visited Silvirtharn along with Ganlin’s rescuer. The tallest one was dressed in armor with a long blade by their side, and was embracing Ganlin’s rescuer. The other, shorter stranger sat by the fire, dressed in robes that had an interweaving pattern of red and blue, was looking up at Ganlin, the fire casting their face in shadow.
“You, Ank’haran.” they said, not breaking their gaze. “Tell me your name.”
Ganlin shifted uncomfortably as the other two broke their embrace and looked at Ganlin as well, waiting for an answer.
“My name is Ganlin Hardell. What is it you want? Do you come from Ludilakir?”
The stranger by the fire made an expression that Ganlin couldn’t quite place, then patted the ground next to them.
“I did not come here from Ludilakir, but I did live there, once, a long time ago. Sit with me, Ganlin, we have much to talk about, and your injuries must be tended to.” Ganlin sat next to them, and they continued speaking as they looked over the wounds on Ganlin’s back.
“My name is Lyzdrik.” They said as they prodded at Ganlin’s wounds, making him hiss.
“You’ve already met Elizarthe, she is my apprentice. And he,” they gestured to the tall man, “is Rollan. I hired him some time ago as a bodyguard, which has become only more necessary these days. Your wounds are worse than I thought, give me a moment.”
Lyzdrik stood up and walked away from the fire, opening up a back that was laying on the ground.
“Alright, Lyzdrik.” Ganlin said, eager to maybe get some answers. “Why did you free me? You said you haven’t been to Ludilakir in a long time, why?”
Lyzdrik came back with a small box, opening it and taking out two small blue gems that glittered in the firelight. Vievstone, Ganlin realized. Lyzdrik handed one of the small stones to Ganlin.
“Hold this, it’ll help the process.”
Ganlin took the stone, and Lyzdrik moved behind Ganlin again, placing a hand on his back as he continued speaking.
“Deep breath in, this may feel strange to you.”
Ganlin took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air as Lyzdrik got to work.
A cold feeling slid down Ganlin’s back, then spread throughout his entire body. All of Ganlin’s muscles felt numb. The wizard continued speaking as they healed Ganlin.
“To answer your questions, I spent some time as an acolyte in Ludilakir, some forty odd years ago. I went there to learn magic, as I knew that I had the natural gift for it. While there, I served as an assistant to one of the Watchers, a man by the name of Myrlarn. He is the one who you’ve been seeing in your dreams.”
Ganlin’s body went cold, and not due to Lyzdrik’s magic.
“How do you know about those?” Ganlin asked, standing up and backing away from the group. He scanned the area for a way to escape, or barring that, a weapon.
“I know because Myrlarn told me about it, even back then you were in his visions. He didn’t tell me much, just that he was having visions of an Ank’haran, fighting in the ruins of a burning skal, trapped within the eye of a raging storm. He said he even managed to somehow connect his mind to this Ank’haran in his visions, and that they said he was locked away in Fort Silvirtharn.” They reached forward and took the vievstone from Ganlin’s hand and placed both gems back in the box before closing it. “You’re welcome, by the way.” They said as they went to place the box back by the pack.
Ganlin’s reeling mind was pulled back into the moment as he realized that his back, no, his entire body, felt better, stronger. Reaching a hand over his shoulder, he felt at his back. His wounds were almost entirely gone, replaced by faint scars. Awed by the power, Ganlin spoke.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.” Then, Ganlin remembered the rest of what Lyzdrik had said.
“He told you that he had linked with me then? But I thought you said that you said you haven’t been to Ludilakir in a long time?”
Lyzdrik finished packing away the box and stood up, turning back towards Ganlin.
“I haven’t been. In fact, I left Ludilakir close to thirty years ago.”
Ganlin swayed, his legs becoming unsteady as his mind whirled.
“How? I wasn’t even alive thirty years ago? How could he have spoken to me?”
Lyzdrik crossed the clearing and sat back down in front of the fire, pushing some of the kindling around with a stick that he then threw into the fire.
“I’m not entirely sure. Myrlarn was powerful among the Watchers, probably the most powerful. Beyond that, he also had many other things to help expand his powers, vievstone, violet-lillies, and the like. It’s been a long time since I’ve studied the magics of Foresight, but I would say that it’s the strangest among the six houses, a fickle thing, foresight. Any conversation you had with Myrlarn existed outside of time, and the Ganlin he was speaking to may not have actually been you, but rather the version of you most likely to occur. Foresight is difficult to explain, and I am hardly an expert on it. The best advice I can give you is this; the less you think about it, the less your head will hurt and the easier your life will be. Foresight is closer to gambling than actually being able to see the future.”
Ganlin sat down, staring blankly at the fire as he tried to follow Lyzdrik’s advice, but failed. What did any of that even mean? How could something exist outside of time, something that no one was supposed to be able to escape?
The mere action of thinking about it made Ganlin’s head hurt. He shook it off and asked another question.
“That is why you released me then? To help your old master?”
“Essentially, yes.” Lyzdrik responded. “After finding you, Myrlarn began focusing his time on trying to find out where you were. Silvirtharn wasn’t a prison until somewhat recently, about five years ago. Before that it was just a fort, inhabited by a lord and his men. They rarely kept prisoners. Then that lord fell out of favour, the keep mostly forgotten, then given to the warden as a prison. For the majority of the time Myrlarn has been searching for you, there wasn’t even a place to look.My master became frustrated, withdrawn. I left because he was too focused on trying to find you rather than teaching me.” Lyzdrik’s eyes narrowed as they said that, a bitter look quickly coming to their face before quickly disappearing again.
“Since he no longer had the motivation to teach me, I left, went to learn different magic.”
“At Maeschekyole?” Ganlin asked, explaining further as Lyzdrik looked at him. “Elizarthe mentioned something about a place called Maeschokyole when she spoke to the warden last morning.”
Lyzdrik’s eyes flicked towards Elizarthe, then back at Ganlin.
“Yes. Maeschokyole lies in the kingdom of Mijyark, Northeast of here. Other kingdoms have organizations and buildings that teach magic, but amongst the Northkingdoms, Maeschokyole has the best. After my time at Ludilakir I was sick of Foresight, and so I went to Maeschokyole and studied the magics of Restoration and Conjuration instead. The three of us,” They gestured towards Elizarthe and Rollan, “Were sent here by Maeschkyole, as word of Silvirtharn’s vievstone deposit had spread amongst the Mystae all over the North-Kingdoms. The council there sent us to try and negotiate a deal with the warden, be it coin or whatever else he may want. Once we arrived here, I remembered that Silvirtharn was the place that Myrlarn had always talked about. From the moment I entered the grounds I was looking at each prisoner, looking for you.”
Lyzdrik stopped talking, taking a moment to drink some water and stare at the fire. Letting their voice replenish. Ganlin waited silently. They spoke again.
“Once I saw you, I knew it was you. Myrlarn was never able to fully see you when the two of you talked, you were always blurry to him, but you matched the description he had given me, all those years ago. So I sent Elizarthe to release you, since she’s studied Illusion.”
The clearing was enveloped by silence as Lyzdrik finished talking. Eventually, Ganlin spoke.
“So what’s next then?”
“We take you to Ludilakir, hand you over to Myrlarn, then the three of us shall return to Maeschokyole. I’m in no hurry to return there, the vievstone is good, but it’s clear that, for whatever reason, the warden is not as interested in our offers as he acts to be.”
The second half of what Lyzdrik said went ignored by Ganlin, who had stopped listening after his worries were confirmed. They were planning to take him to Ludilakir, so Myrlarn could attempt to figure out why he and Ganlin had somehow been connected to each other. Ganlin didn’t want that, it was a waste of his time. He needed to return to that Skal and make good on his oath, and make up for his failure by punishing himself in any way they requested, that was the only way that Ganlin would be able to restore the honour he had lost by allowing himself to be taken to Silvirtharn. If he went to Ludilakir, it would take him even longer to return, and he would lose what remaining honour his soul may still carry.
Ganlin stood up, and the other three people in the clearing looked towards him as he spoke.
“From the bottom of my soul, I thank you all for your help. Both for rescuing me, and for treating my wounds, but I cannot go with you. I have made an oath to the people of a small Skal, I believe Southwest of here, if my direction has not been too muddled by my time in Silvirtharn.
My time in that prison stopped me from fulfilling the oath I made to them, but now that I am free I can finally serve them as I was meant to. Tell Myrlarn that I shall come one day, or he could come to me, if he so likes, but I am not going to Ludilakir. Not yet.”
With that, Ganlin strode forward through the underbrush and went to fulfill his oath.
-End of chapter 10-
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