of the Treaty of
Khar Tam, which led to the Second Splintering, the warlords of the
Blood Red raised Night Walkers as soldiers, a nigh-invincible army
to march against the city itself. Not surprisingly, it fell fast to
their advance. For what can kill that which is already dead?” He
heaved his pack more firmly onto his shoulders with a grimace. “At
least, that’s the theory. The Protectors would now have us believe
that such things never existed at all and that Khar Tam fell
because the King was a heretic, punished by the Thirteen for his
wickedness.”
“ If the Protectors deny the story,
then it must be true. By the Gods, what an appalling spell!” Giving
Kel my full attention at last, I contemplated who on earth would
ever have come up with such a ghastly use for magic. “And what need
for it? It’s not as though any warlord cannot find enough idle
young men with a thirst for battle and glory, who can walk in the
day as well as the night.”
“ True, but mortal men need to sleep
and can be injured, whereas Night Walkers cannot. In daylight hours
it’s said that the animated body falls to the ground, a mere corpse
once more. You may bury it or burn it, it matters not. The thing
will rise once again when the sun is down, as long as the bones
remain unscattered.”
I shivered. “It’s a dark magic you speak of,
indeed. I hope Brin is correct, that we may never see such a
thing.”
“ If there is one thing that history
teaches us consistently, it’s that men have ever committed dark and
wicked acts in the pursuit of power. Necromancy is truly the worst
kind of abomination: black magic of old, long since forbidden in
Lis. That’s one thing we should thank the Protectors for,
certainly.”
“ The only thing,” I grumbled, puffing harder as the
incline grew steeper. “What do you know of these caverns we’ll pass
through?”
Kel shrugged. “Nothing, sadly. It’s hard
enough these days to find a text about Khar Tam that the Protectors
haven’t already revised. I was not aware that anything lay beneath
the ruins but rock. But we’ll see, won’t we? This pilgrimage will
be an excellent supplement to my education, I’m sure of it!”
Barely able to catch my breath, I
scowled once more at the thought of all the tiresome trudgings
ahead. “By all the Gods, why did these people have to build all
their temples at the top of
mountains?”
“ Actually, that’s a very interesting
observation, Ned. The founding of holy sites atop mountains is a
phenomenon across history and cultures. Many argue it is because
the believers wish to be closer to their gods, whereas some
scholars have postulated…”
I sighed and returned my attention to Kari’s
backside, instantly regretting my throwaway question. Kel was not
much of a believer but he was a passionate scholar of his subject
and often assumed erroneously that nearby listeners shared his
interests.
When we finally reached the top of the path,
Kari paused at the feet of another statue of Matativi to pray. Brin
looked irritated by the delay and rested against the donkey
wearily. I took a deep lungful of the cool air and looked around.
The Temple was much like the first one we had visited, only a lot
smaller and slightly shabbier. The same pale birds were nesting
under the rafters of the sloping roof and several goats were
tethered to a fence under a sprawling tree.
I looked at the statue and was struck by how
different it was to the others I’d seen.
What had been a wistful half-twist of the
lips was a wide, sunny smile. There were soft dimples in her cheeks
and the eyes were slightly lidded, the neck angled slightly as if
Matativi was looking down from her plinth and right at me. The hand
clasped over her heart was slightly opened in a gesture of sharing.
“This is a much nicer statue than the other ones,” I remarked,
overcome with a stupid urge to smile back at the blind eyes.
“ What are you talking about?” Brin
scoffed. “It’s exactly the
Khar Tam, which led to the Second Splintering, the warlords of the
Blood Red raised Night Walkers as soldiers, a nigh-invincible army
to march against the city itself. Not surprisingly, it fell fast to
their advance. For what can kill that which is already dead?” He
heaved his pack more firmly onto his shoulders with a grimace. “At
least, that’s the theory. The Protectors would now have us believe
that such things never existed at all and that Khar Tam fell
because the King was a heretic, punished by the Thirteen for his
wickedness.”
“ If the Protectors deny the story,
then it must be true. By the Gods, what an appalling spell!” Giving
Kel my full attention at last, I contemplated who on earth would
ever have come up with such a ghastly use for magic. “And what need
for it? It’s not as though any warlord cannot find enough idle
young men with a thirst for battle and glory, who can walk in the
day as well as the night.”
“ True, but mortal men need to sleep
and can be injured, whereas Night Walkers cannot. In daylight hours
it’s said that the animated body falls to the ground, a mere corpse
once more. You may bury it or burn it, it matters not. The thing
will rise once again when the sun is down, as long as the bones
remain unscattered.”
I shivered. “It’s a dark magic you speak of,
indeed. I hope Brin is correct, that we may never see such a
thing.”
“ If there is one thing that history
teaches us consistently, it’s that men have ever committed dark and
wicked acts in the pursuit of power. Necromancy is truly the worst
kind of abomination: black magic of old, long since forbidden in
Lis. That’s one thing we should thank the Protectors for,
certainly.”
“ The only thing,” I grumbled, puffing harder as the
incline grew steeper. “What do you know of these caverns we’ll pass
through?”
Kel shrugged. “Nothing, sadly. It’s hard
enough these days to find a text about Khar Tam that the Protectors
haven’t already revised. I was not aware that anything lay beneath
the ruins but rock. But we’ll see, won’t we? This pilgrimage will
be an excellent supplement to my education, I’m sure of it!”
Barely able to catch my breath, I
scowled once more at the thought of all the tiresome trudgings
ahead. “By all the Gods, why did these people have to build all
their temples at the top of
mountains?”
“ Actually, that’s a very interesting
observation, Ned. The founding of holy sites atop mountains is a
phenomenon across history and cultures. Many argue it is because
the believers wish to be closer to their gods, whereas some
scholars have postulated…”
I sighed and returned my attention to Kari’s
backside, instantly regretting my throwaway question. Kel was not
much of a believer but he was a passionate scholar of his subject
and often assumed erroneously that nearby listeners shared his
interests.
When we finally reached the top of the path,
Kari paused at the feet of another statue of Matativi to pray. Brin
looked irritated by the delay and rested against the donkey
wearily. I took a deep lungful of the cool air and looked around.
The Temple was much like the first one we had visited, only a lot
smaller and slightly shabbier. The same pale birds were nesting
under the rafters of the sloping roof and several goats were
tethered to a fence under a sprawling tree.
I looked at the statue and was struck by how
different it was to the others I’d seen.
What had been a wistful half-twist of the
lips was a wide, sunny smile. There were soft dimples in her cheeks
and the eyes were slightly lidded, the neck angled slightly as if
Matativi was looking down from her plinth and right at me. The hand
clasped over her heart was slightly opened in a gesture of sharing.
“This is a much nicer statue than the other ones,” I remarked,
overcome with a stupid urge to smile back at the blind eyes.
“ What are you talking about?” Brin
scoffed. “It’s exactly the
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