able to locate the Marked, and after roaming the south of the continent without results, he went in search of his brothers. He tracked them one by one, following the trail left by their unmistakable power. He found the first one dead, petrified in Rogdon, on the coast, near the fortress isle where an Order of Healers dwelt. He found the second burnt to ashes in the Masig steppes. The third he found frozen on the borders of the Usik forests. And the last he found right there, in the Kingdom of Erenal, struck as if by a bolt of lightning. Four powerful sorcerers, all dead, in different regions of Tremia, while they followed the trail of an infant of great power. That inexplicable mystery had haunted him all these years, and he had never found an explanation. Had they found the Marked in different places? Had the talismans led them to other infants with great power who were not the Marked? If so, who were they?
But what puzzled him the most, without a doubt, was an uncontestable fact: they had all died. And that led to the great question: who had killed them? This mystery remained unsolved still and tortured his soul since it was the cause of his failure and shame.
The Dark Lady insisted on sending more Dark Assassins after the Marked, for they had managed to locate him the first time and should have been able to do so again. The failure of the Necromancer acolytes enraged her so much that Isuzeni’s life was within a breath of coming to an end. He sent new Dark Assassins to the great continent, even though his hopes of success were few, as whoever had hidden the Marked before had had time to prepare and now had the advantage over them. For years Isuzeni’s agents combed Tremia without success, until now…
“Whoever protected him is powerful and intelligent, but I shall find him, my Lady.” He said, coming back to reality.
“Today we know something more, something supremely important,” the Dark Lady said. “The Marked was hiding in the highlands, among the Norriel.”
“Yes, that’s right… This leads me to believe he was being protected from my location spell. The bracelets didn’t work, as both the assassins and my acolytes traveled all through the highlands. Someone protected the Marked with a very powerful hiding spell.”
“Who, Isuzeni, who? That’s the question.”
“A powerful sorcerer, a Witch very probably, someone adept at the mystical arts of hiding and discovery, capable of casting spells on the basis of enormous knowledge. But in order to be able to hide him for so long, this person had to count on the help of someone even more powerful: a Mage.”
“A Witch and a Mage working together to hide a baby they knew nothing about? It’s a wild guess… and most unlikely.”
“Perhaps because that is precisely what happened, we never found an answer to the disappearance of the Marked.”
“Perhaps. In any case, I will find and kill them. The Marked, and all who have helped him in any way.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
“That I promise! They will all die! All!”
Elusive answers
Kayti, Hartz and Komir arrived at the Egia Lighthouse with Haradin. They went down from the basement of the great lighthouse to the underground Temple of Ether. Komir noticed that the Priests of the Light were working there without rest, coming and going without the need of the Dark Medallion to open the sealed chambers.
“How did they manage to open the chambers?” he asked Haradin when they finally reached the funerary chamber of the Lord of Ether.
“From what Abbot Dian has told me, one of the priests, a scholar devoted to the study of the Ilenian world, discovered how to keep them open. Something about solving a complicated hieroglyph…”
“That must have been Lindaro, I’ll bet my left ear,” said Hartz, with a wide grin.
“Of course it was Lindaro, you dimwit, who else could it be?” Kayti said. “And don’t you go betting your ears, you’re ugly enough as it is. Besides, I
But what puzzled him the most, without a doubt, was an uncontestable fact: they had all died. And that led to the great question: who had killed them? This mystery remained unsolved still and tortured his soul since it was the cause of his failure and shame.
The Dark Lady insisted on sending more Dark Assassins after the Marked, for they had managed to locate him the first time and should have been able to do so again. The failure of the Necromancer acolytes enraged her so much that Isuzeni’s life was within a breath of coming to an end. He sent new Dark Assassins to the great continent, even though his hopes of success were few, as whoever had hidden the Marked before had had time to prepare and now had the advantage over them. For years Isuzeni’s agents combed Tremia without success, until now…
“Whoever protected him is powerful and intelligent, but I shall find him, my Lady.” He said, coming back to reality.
“Today we know something more, something supremely important,” the Dark Lady said. “The Marked was hiding in the highlands, among the Norriel.”
“Yes, that’s right… This leads me to believe he was being protected from my location spell. The bracelets didn’t work, as both the assassins and my acolytes traveled all through the highlands. Someone protected the Marked with a very powerful hiding spell.”
“Who, Isuzeni, who? That’s the question.”
“A powerful sorcerer, a Witch very probably, someone adept at the mystical arts of hiding and discovery, capable of casting spells on the basis of enormous knowledge. But in order to be able to hide him for so long, this person had to count on the help of someone even more powerful: a Mage.”
“A Witch and a Mage working together to hide a baby they knew nothing about? It’s a wild guess… and most unlikely.”
“Perhaps because that is precisely what happened, we never found an answer to the disappearance of the Marked.”
“Perhaps. In any case, I will find and kill them. The Marked, and all who have helped him in any way.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
“That I promise! They will all die! All!”
Elusive answers
Kayti, Hartz and Komir arrived at the Egia Lighthouse with Haradin. They went down from the basement of the great lighthouse to the underground Temple of Ether. Komir noticed that the Priests of the Light were working there without rest, coming and going without the need of the Dark Medallion to open the sealed chambers.
“How did they manage to open the chambers?” he asked Haradin when they finally reached the funerary chamber of the Lord of Ether.
“From what Abbot Dian has told me, one of the priests, a scholar devoted to the study of the Ilenian world, discovered how to keep them open. Something about solving a complicated hieroglyph…”
“That must have been Lindaro, I’ll bet my left ear,” said Hartz, with a wide grin.
“Of course it was Lindaro, you dimwit, who else could it be?” Kayti said. “And don’t you go betting your ears, you’re ugly enough as it is. Besides, I
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