Chapter 5 #3
“They are quite real. The Bellator sunk them to demonstrate their power and bind the mortals to them. All that is left of where they once were is the Dark Water.”
Kerik shakes his head. “Are you telling me that the Priam tales are true? That Pia and Prim existed and really did sink to the bottom of the sea?”
“Yes,” says Perl. “Or at least, what the Priams believe is based on something true. The legend has become twisted. But that did happen. That action and the men agreeing that the Bellator could do it was a sacrifice that released great power, power that fuels the Bellator even now.”
Kerik still looks disbelieving. “The Priams claim that the isles of Pia and Prim are still down there at the bottom of the Priam Sea and the men of those isles live still.”
“I cannot say if that part is true. It is likely fancy. But I have heard similar stories, usually involving the Merek-Dur saving them. But what is certain is that it happened. The men agreed and the Bellator sank those isles. The magical power from that act exists on Klish still. Outside of the Amber Forest it is still one of the most magically rich places in the mortal realm.”
And because of that power he had advised her to take a youth from Klish to be her vessel, Perl thinks. He hadn’t known what she would put him through, but he had advised her to do it. He had been desperate.
Kerik rolls onto his side, propping himself up on an arm. “ The men and the Bellator went to war. As the fae no longer live in the mortal realm, I assume that war was lost by the fae.”
“The war lasted over a century,” Perl says.
“But when it was done, the men and the Bellator were victorious. The Jura-il were gone. The Merek-Dur never left the seas again. And the Bell-ai were forced north to the isles of Oria, Ulla and Varia. But less than fifty years after that victory, the Bellator turned on the men and enslaved them. For the Bellator mortal’s minds are a great source of power.
When mortals revere them, the Bellator grow stronger.
This is why they gained such strength from mortals letting them destroy Pia and Prim.
And why, when the war ended and mortal men celebrated the Bellator as saviours, the Bellator grew stronger still.
Strong enough that they could ravage the mortal realm.
They destroyed everything mortal men had built.
The only things that survive from those times are the ruins of the fae structures that weren’t raised in the war. ”
“So it was all a trick? The Bellator were traitors?”
“Indeed. As I said, the Bellator are as tricky as the fae who created them. They tricked men into helping them rid themselves of the fae, by giving them power from their devotion, but the fae were the only thing stopping the Bellator from taking the world for themselves.”
“And the story about the Bellator ruling over the land and the Gods sending five fae princes to destroy them. Are you saying that story is true?”
Perl nods. “Correct. And after another long and bloody conflict the Bellator were all imprisoned in a vault beneath the Amber Forest. Where they remain to this day.”
Kerik looks at Perl with an expression that suggests he does not believe a word of what Perl has told him. “And what part of this story of yours involves me?”
Perl nods, quite a reasonable question. “We know now that the Five Fae Princes were not wholly successful. One of the Bellator managed to hide her child, a Bellator youngling in the forest. That child grew to become Ur-Durik. The Bellator we fear is returning.”
“But only one? Surely one Bellator can be easily defeated?”
“Perhaps, but perhaps not. This creature has spent centuries watching and learning the ways of men. Ur-Durik has found ways to amass power that no other Bellator has ever done. Ur-Durik understood the power Bellator can gain from men’s reverence. He has convinced many men to worship him as a God.”
“There are men who worship demons in the Amber Forest?”
“Yes. But not only that. Sarelik Darek met the demon when he was in those forests. He made a deal with that demon to give him the power to start his revolution. In return he declared that all of Azuria would follow the faith of Zai. Zai is another name for Ur-Durik.”
“Zai?” Kerik says, sounding shocked.
Perl nods. “I told you the Bellator grow stronger when mortals worship them. Ur-Durik had Sarelik Darek build an empire to worship him. He is more powerful than any Bellator has ever been. He has been trapped for a long time in the Amber Forest. But we know he has found a way to rise. It cannot be stopped.”
Kerik says, “Zai is a demon. The Great Zai? The God, Zai?”
“Yes.” Perl knows how this must sound. He has had this conversation before. Explained all of this to other mortals who considered Zai their God.
“You would die for saying this in Azuria,” Kerik says.
“I am aware of that. Ur-Durik has protected himself well. Nevertheless, this is the truth.”
“And me, you still have not said anything about me. How does this tale explain why you kept me in your tower for five years?”
“You are aware that the Hevelikar claimed to be descended from the five princes who saved the mortal realm from the Bellator?”
“Yes, of course. They claimed the right to rule Azuria because of it. A claim that is also treachery in Azuria.”
“Perhaps, but it was, in fact, the truth. The Hevelikar are descendants of those princes. And the Hevelikar were once a noble line, although not at the end. But they had fae blood. And you carry that blood from your ancestor. Sarelik Darek’s wife Perpetu.”
“So that is why you say I have fae blood?”
“You quite definitely have fae blood. I can see it in your eyes. And you travelled through the salt door painlessly. Normally that process would be very uncomfortable for mortals. It is part of the wards of Vylenor. But you have fae blood and The Aeons have told us that the five fae princes will be reborn to defeat the Bellator from the line of your father. He has sired five illegitimate sons to defeat Ur-Durik. Damon, Lukas, Tobi, you and Jemel.”
“What? Who the fuck is Jemel? I have no such brother?”
“Oh, but you do. Jemel has never been publicly acknowledged by your father. But we have him. He is being guided in his role as the Scholar. You each have roles. Damon is the Warrior, Lukas is the Thief, Tobi is the Fool, Jemel is the Scholar and you are the Magician."
Kerik’s eyes go wide at that. “Why am I the Magician? Surely I should be the Warrior. The Master at arms at the Rose Palace said my skills would likely equal Damon’s.” He sounds quite petulant.
“You are the Magician because that is what The Aeons tell us. And that is the reason why I needed to hide you away. There are many who would want to take your power and use it. Even though your magic is yet to awaken.”
“So I will learn magic?” Kerik sounds far less disbelieving than he has for the rest of this conversation. He almost sounds intrigued. “Your Aeon Gods claim so?”
“Correct,” says Perl. “Each fae prince has a sacred magical blade they must use in the great battle. And Iceheart, the blade of the Magician, your blade, is here. When I retrieve your sword, Iceheart, from Exeinil, that will awaken your magic. That is why we are here, why I had to come here although I would have preferred never to return to this place.”
Kerik’s eyes are quite wide, but his tone is once again mocking as he says, “So you’re here.. we’re here for a magic sword?”
He has just been told the great story of the creation of the Bellator, a secret the fae have hidden for thousands of years.
A secret that is death to share with a mortal.
But Perl has shared it. Before now only with select mortals, after much swearing of fealty and trepidation.
Mortals he needed or thought he could trust. But here now, he has simply told the tale to Kerik Darekul, the spoilt wretch of Fanost, and his reaction to this precious information is simply to act as if he has been told a ridiculous story.
Perl keeps his voice even as he says, “On the morrow, we will attend the Silver Ball and I will ask Exeinil to grant me a boon. When she agrees I will ask for Iceheart. We will take the sword to Ceruleum to join Doroth Zain and begin the next part of the preparations.”
“I will wield magic? With a magic sword?” Kerik says in his same mocking tone that is quite infuriating.
“Yes,” Perl says tightly. “If you wish, we can speak more of this after I have slept. Creating that salt door exhausted me but sleeping in Vylenor will easily replenish my powers. Perhaps you would like to wash. The bathing chamber is through there.”
Kerik pauses a moment, as if considering this, before shrugging. He lifts his hand and removes the collar he wears quite casually, staring at Perl, as if trying to think of something to say. But in the end, he says nothing but, “Very well,” and strolls towards the door Perl indicated.
Perl knows that although his bathing chamber is not at all grand by the standards of Vylenor, it is far grander than most private bathing chambers in even the finest manors in Azuria.
He feels quite gratified when he hears Kerik exclaim, “Zai’s own mother,” from the other side of the closed door.
Perl moves across the chamber to lie down on his bed. This day has been more complex and difficult than he ever could have imagined, and he had imagined it to be extremely complex and difficult.
He lets his mind wander through all of it: Jareleezi, bringing Kerik with him to Vylenor, Exeinil, Vane, Kerik’s dismissive reaction to the story Perl’s entire life’s work is built around.
The fact he must face a Silver Ball and the boon he needs to request. What will he do if Exeinil refuses to grant it?
But Iceheart had been wrought by his own father, surely that must mean he has some kind of claim to it.