NexLord: Dark Prophecies (31 page)

As before, Aerin saw men in various states of
poverty along the side of the thin street.  Some wore
rags for clothing and held out broken pottery to passing citizens,
begging
while others crouched near
the ground holding their knees and rocking.  One man even
stood ranting on about the coming of flies to eat the
world. 

"What is wrong with these men?" Gandarel
asked.

Mara spoke in a sad voice, "They have either
been abandoned by the
world
or
have abandoned it themselves.  When someone is labeled
‘daft’ or ‘touched by the Dreadmaster’, people bring them to Netter
Street, rather than deal with their sickness.  There is a
block of abandoned old buildings here where they sleep at night,
and charities bring food each day from many of the surrounding
churches.  You'll notice we aren't far from the main
theological section of the city."

Gandarel was troubled, as Warlord he was
supposed to take care of the people under his charge, but these
poor men seemed to be near death in many cases.  "Can
nothing else be done for them?"

Mara looked at him with
sympathy.  "In some cases more could be done, but there
are many different cases here.  Some even want to live
this way.  Others, well there are things in this world
that affect us, things beyond an individual’s control, forces that
are not easily surmountable.  There are powers that have
belief
behind them, and trust me,
belief is a power to be reckoned with."

Aerin watched the man who ranted about flies
for a moment.  "Is that why you brought us here today, to
teach us about the powers of belief?"

Mara smiled at him, he was such an
intelligent boy, his mind always working.  "No, Aerin,
though I will give you a small example, now that you have brought
it up.  Do you believe in
Tzera
, God of smoke?”

Aerin considered for a
moment.  “No, smoke is just what comes off of something
that is burning; it is silly to think a god would spend their
energy on such a simple thing.”

Mara smiled, “Yet they have hundreds of
parishioners who worship this deity every day.  Do you
believe yourself that much smarter than all of those people?”

Now a frown crept onto the boy’s face, “No,
well I don’t suppose so.”

Gandarel stepped into the
fray.  “It’s peer pressure; they believe it because the
people around them do.”

Mara nodded.  “You are indeed
correct, but that power is even stronger than you
think.  The power of people believing in something adds
together to become stronger than most individual
minds.  The greater the number of people who believe and
accept it in their heart as true,
the
more
powerful that belief becomes.”   

Both boys were surprised at what she had
said, and then Gandarel looked up slyly.  “Aren’t you
preaching your own beliefs to us right now?”

Mara laughed a truly heartfelt laugh and then
after a moment replied, “Indeed, young man, I am imparting a belief
upon you now, and by saying it is true and by believing it, I give
it power.  Should ten people stand and tell you the same
thing and believe it, you would indeed feel the pressure to believe
it yourself.  Should a thousand…
well,
even you might believe in what I say
then.  But remember this; my message is to beware the
power of belief by common faith. Just because others believe
doesn't make it true.  

"
Instead,
I
counsel you to test what you are told, and even what you see over
and over, accept only what you prove.  Apply this to what
I tell you, as well as anyone else.  Live life on your
own terms,
do
good for the world
because it is right that you be treated as you treat
others.  After all, if there turns out to be a higher
being, by definition of an all-powerful wise god, they could not
treat you in such a childish manner as to punish you for doing well
by your fellow man.  

"However, I did not bring you here today to
sway you to believe something I believe, I brought you here to
observe and learn on your own.  The lesson of the day is
what you see first is not always what is true.  Learn by
observing, keep a clear and unprejudiced mind, and question
everything until you reveal the real answer."

Gandarel rolled his eyes when he understood
it was going to be one of THOSE lessons, the kind that took weeks
to see the answer.  "Oh, that's much simpler, sure I get
it."

Mara smiled at the sarcastic
boy.  "Believe it or not, it is simpler than
understanding the forces that drive our world, which is what you
thought we were here to learn about.  But forget that for
the moment, it's time for an example."

She moved up the street further until she
came to a man who crouched in the dust of the
street.  His hands were placed between his legs, with the
palms down on the ground before him, much like a dog sitting on its
hind legs.  His mouth was open and his tongue was out and
panting slightly.  He only wore caked mud.  His
black beard and hair were dirty and matted.  His age was
indeterminate beneath the filth, though Gandarel didn’t think him
very old.

Aerin recognized him instantly as the man
Mara had come to see at least twice before, though he did not
mention what he knew. 

"What do you see here?" Mara asked the
boys.

"I see a man who thinks he's an animal,"
Gandarel answered promptly.

Mara nodded.  "Not a bad
assessment, but not entirely accurate either."  She
crouched down to the man's level and spoke
quietly.  "Good day, Ricard, how are you doing
today?"

There was no response, but then the man
let
out a low wine from his closed
mouth. 

Mara spoke quietly to the
boys.  "Don't smile at him, he doesn't like
that."  She reached into the sack she carried and drew
out a wrapped package, which she then held out toward Gandarel.

"Crouch down before him, look him directly in
the eyes and place this before him," she instructed.

Gandarel shook his head, "I don't want to get
that close; he looks dangerous."

Mara frowned at Gandarel, "This is not a time
to argue," she turned to the other boy, "Aerin, can you do it for
me?"

Aerin nodded and crouched down before the
man.  He kept his eyes locked on the dark brown orbs of
the strange man as he placed the package on the ground.

The man's hand darted out and grabbed Aerin’s
wrist in a firm grasp.

Mara spoke quickly, "Relax, Aerin, it’s all
right."

The man leaned his head down and sniffed
Aerin's hand for a moment, and then he shifted his grip and clasped
Aerin's hand in a swordsman’s
handshake
while looking the young boy in the
eye.  A moment later he released his grip and dropped
back to all fours.  He began to sniff at the food
package.

Mara guided the boys away from the man.

At the end of the
block,
Gandarel stopped and demanded an answer. 

"Ok, I admit it, I don't understand what that
proved," he said with crossed arms, looking quite belligerent.

Mara raised her eyebrows at
him.  "Who said it proved anything?"

"What was I supposed to learn from
that?  You said something about what I saw not being
true."

Mara smiled.  "All right, what did
you see?"

"I saw a crazy man, who thinks he's a dog,
take some food," Gandarel exclaimed.

Mara looked at Aerin.  "Is that
what you saw?"

Aerin considered her question for a moment
before answering, "At first... yes, but there was something in his
eyes, honor, integrity, I don't know, I got the feeling he was not
crazy."

"Sheesh," Gandarel interjected.

Mara sent him a quieting frown, and then
continued talking to Aerin, "And what did you observe from his
grabbing your hand?  Think about it and remember
everything."

"He was strong," Aerin began, thinking back
to the feel of the hand on his wrist, "and the hands were rough,
with calluses."

"
Of course,
his hands were rough, he walks like a dog!" Gandarel burst out.

"No, it wasn't that, the calluses were very
defined, almost ridges in his hand," Aerin remembered, feeling at
his left palm with the fingers of his right hand.

There was a large commotion from the nearby
main thoroughfare; people were gathering and pointing up the
street.

Gandarel was glad to have a diversion; this
stuff about the crazy guy was starting to bore him.  He
interrupted Aerin, "Hey, let's see what's going
on!"  Without waiting for a reply, he ran to the edge of
the gathering crowd and started jockeying for a position where he
could see what was happening to cause such a stir.

Aerin looked at Mara with narrowed
eyes.  "You didn't just bring us out here to feed that
man and see that he isn't really crazy, did you?"

His teacher smiled.  "What you see
is not always the whole truth.  What did you make of
those calluses, Aerin?"

He looked back at his own palm and saw the
calluses he had developed from all their weapons practice.

"He's a swordsman," he suddenly knew, seeing
the matching patterns in his palm.

"Indeed, but that is enough for now,
Aerin.  Here comes Gandarel."

The young heir to the Seat of Stone arrived
back at their side, panting from his run. 

"Togroths!” he gasped.

Mara rapped him on the shin lightly with her
cane, "This is not how I've taught you, Gandarel,
report
in a controlled manner."

Gandarel took a moment to regain his breath
and gather his thoughts, and then he tried again: "A Togroth army
has been spotted.  It is headed toward
Strakhelm.  They must have overrun the border guards, and
killed
them
before they could
light the old warning fires."

Mara nodded curtly, a calculating look in her
steel eyes.  "And what should you be doing?"

Gandarel thought for a moment and then
replied, "The council will be looking for me; they'll need me as a
symbol to unite the militia."

"So..." Mara prompted.

"I must return to my guards immediately, and
head for the Seat."

"But how are you going to get to the Villa
and from there to the Seat?  The streets will be rampant
with worried people, and if someone spots you there might be
trouble due to panic."

"But, how else can I get back?" Gandarel
questioned.

Mara looked up, "Is there not a faster route
by which you boys often travel?"

Gandarel nodded, "The High Road, but..."

"Do not worry about me, young
Warlord.  Your people need you, so you must get back to
the Seat.  I will make my way to the Villa and inform
your guards that you went to the Seat without them.  Aerin,
make sure Gandarel gets to his destination, and then return
by
the High Road to the
Villa.  Don't dally anywhere," she cautioned with a stern
glance.

"I won't, Mara."

Mara nodded, and again addressed Gandarel,
"Now, when you meet with your advisors make sure you suggest that
the city
be
sealed and that no one
goes in or out.  No attacks, no sorties, no meetings with
the enemy leaders, no parlays of any sort.  Buckle the
city down for a siege and tell your advisors to wait it out."

"Shouldn't we fight?" Gandarel asked in
frustration.

"No, that would only get people
killed.  I know what I'm talking about here, so trust
me.  Last, but not least, once you have convinced the
council to wait out the siege, you MUST come to me...
understand?"

Gandarel looked puzzled, "Not really,
no."

Mara sighed, "Just remember to come, and
don't let anyone stop you.  This is the most important
thing I have ever asked you to do, Gandarel."

"All right, I'll come as soon as I can, I
promise," he agreed.

Mara looked in his eyes for a moment and then
nodded, "Good, alright boys, get moving, and you watch out for your
friend, Aerin." 

Aerin nodded, and the two boys dashed to the
side of a building and swarmed up the drainpipes toward the high
roofs.  Mara made her way into the swiftly gathering
crowds of people in the streets, using her voice or cane where
appropriate.

Aerin left Gandarel at the gate into the Seat
of Stone, the guards were obviously relieved to see him, and
quickly shut the massive gates once he was within.  Aerin
had to fight his way through crowds of people milling around the
outside of the Seat until he could reach an alley and ascend back
to the rooftops.

When Aerin arrived in the practice yard he
was surprised.  It looked to him as if his friends were
packing to leave.

He saw Katek loading boxes of supplies into
Mara's wagon and went over to speak with his new friend. "What's
going on, Katek?"

"We're packing to leave."

"That's obvious, the question is, why?"

Katek shrugged, "Mara said pack; I'm
packing."

"But doesn't it seem odd that we would be
leaving, when the city is being sealed up and an approaching army
is about to lay siege?  They are going to need all the
fighters they can find!"

"If you are puzzled, why don't you ask
Mara?"

Aerin glanced up toward her room; the door
was open.  "I guess I'll do
that
since you are such a fountain of information."

Katek smiled, "Good, then you'll be put to
work and I won't have to load this stuff all by myself."

Aerin was far too worried to laugh at his
friend's joke and headed toward the stairs.  He met Tocor
coming down carrying a large trunk.

"Tocor, what's going on?" Aerin asked the
large Quarian, as Tocor passed him going down the stairs.

The rumbling of his deep voice seemed to move
the very air, "Packing, we'll be leaving here soon."