When Heroes Fall Page 2

Miceral made a final push to convince Farrell they were not his enemies. When that attempt failed, a desperate Miceral pulled out a knife. After telling Farrell how much he loved him and to win the war, Miceral tried to stab himself in the heart to prove he was not Farrell’s enemy. Farrell rushed over and pulled the knife away, telling Miceral he believed him.

  Before Miceral could take too much joy in the moment, Farrell’s eyes rolled back and he plunged toward the ground. Rothdin swooped under and saved Farrell and a moment later, Nerti advised them they had rescued him in time.

  When Farrell recovered, he learned that the spell Meglar had used was something Kel had created. It used energy Meglar had captured from Farrell during the attack at Belsport, and Meglar attached to it the spell that rendered him unconscious. Given that Meglar likely had access to other books on magic written by Kel, Farrell became more certain he needed to find his distant ancestor.

  Father Gedrin took Farrell to the meeting place of the Order of Kel, a secret organization whose purpose was to guard against Neldin’s return. There Farrell was introduced to Markus, the king of Dumbarten, and Grand Master Penelope, the king’s aunt and chief wizard of Dumbarten.

  Inside the council chamber was another room that no one had ever successfully entered. Farrell was allowed to enter the room, where he was attacked by spells left to guard the room. Working quickly, Farrell neutralized the attacks and Kel’s image appeared. Kel explained that the room had been left for his successor, and Farrell must surely be that person. Kel then gave Farrell two items: the Eye of Honorus and the Arm of Khron. These were two of the seven Gifts of the Gods. The Six had directed Kel to collect them for his successor. He also gave Farrell another book with the hint he might find his answers on those pages. Kel wouldn’t provide any further guidance, and Farrell left.

  Penelope and Farrell searched the libraries of Dumbarten and found another message from Kel. In it, Kel explained that Farrell must travel to the temple of Seritia in Agloth, for Kel had left another item for Farrell in the city. As Farrell was planning to leave, the High Priestess for Seritia in Dumbarten arrived and told him he could not use a Door to enter Agloth and must do as all other supplicants did when coming to Seritia’s city—travel overland.

  His plans shattered, Farrell had to regroup and find a way to continue his search for Kel and the answers he desperately needed.

  After days of debate, Nerti and Rothdin proposed a plan: Penelope would make a pilgrimage to Agloth. Farrell, Miceral, and Peter would join her. All four would ride unicorns. Grohl and Takala would also go and fly ahead as scouts. Though no one was happy, they agreed this would be the best plan.

  Five days into an otherwise uneventful but tiring journey, the party was attacked by a group of harpies—warped creatures left over from the first war. Farrell mentally and physically merged with Takala and attacked the enemy from the sky. During the fight, a massive attack targeted the pair. Takala took evasive action in time and the attack missed them.

  Farrell used the Eye of Honorus and learned that Vedric, a son of Meglar, sent the attack. Vedric planned to follow them to Agloth and raze Seritia’s city in tribute to Neldin. Alerted to this new danger, the unicorns raced to get to Agloth ahead of Vedric.

  When they arrived at Agloth, an escort immediately took them to meet Jolella, the high priestess of Agloth and first priestess for Seritia on Nendor. Though it appeared the city was nearly deserted, Farrell felt a deep sadness radiating all around him. Finding nothing to cause the feeling, he brushed it off as fatigue.

  Mother Jolella greeted them and confirmed Kel had visited years ago. She told them that a gravely injured Kel rode to the city on unicorn from the worst part of the desert. When Farrell asked what he brought and where he hid it, Jolella refused to answer. Instead, she gave him permission to search the city using any means available to him.

  With the help of the Eye, Farrell found the house where Kel had hid what he brought to Agloth. Inside the building, Farrell met the lost people of Ze’arder. Amelt Randgar explained that his brother, the previous ruler, had marched his army out of Agloth intending to retake their ancestral lands. Seritia warned them not to violate their oath to defend Her city by leaving, but Amelt Jazor ignored her. Seritia banished them to the void. Randgar told Farrell he and his people were waiting for him to free them.

  Using the Eye, Farrell located another image of Kel. This Kel looked older and frailer than the one in Dumbarten. Kel guided him to a chest and when Farrell opened it, he found the Heart of Seritia and the Hand of Neldin.

  Angry, Farrell left the void with the chest. Within seconds, the city erupted with life as the people of Ze’arder emerged from wherever Seritia had sent them. Their return to the city created confusion across Agloth.

  Back in Farrell’s quarters, Jolella and Randgar explained how the Children of Zeron ended up in the void. Farrell speculated Seritia intentionally provoked the breaking of the oath so She could hide the people of Ze’arder in the void in case Neldin won the first war. Now that Her brother had returned, She returned them the world again. Jolella expressed doubt, but Nerti agreed with Farrell. The discussion moved on to the Hand and the Heart, and Farrell confessed he hadn’t learned much from Kel.

  A couple of days later, Farrell returned to speak to Kel about how he came to possess the Hand of Neldin. Kel explained he was tasked by Seritia to collect the Hand from the dark wizard Krendrew. The fight nearly killed him, but Flemin, Nerti’s son and Kel’s companion, had saved him.

  After his conversation with Kel, Farrell determined he needed to go to the dwarf realm of Colograd to collect the Mind of Falcron. He and Miceral, along with Nerti and Klissmor, set out while the others prepared for Vedric’s invasion of Agloth.

  Farrell and Miceral met with King Thrinton of Colograd. Though Thrinton understood Farrell’s need, he wasn’t willing to relinquish the Mind without further thought. Shortly after Miceral and Farrell returned to their rooms in Colograd’s palace, Father Aswick knocked on their door. Khron’s high priest had traveled from Trellham with news and a gift. He presented Farrell and Miceral with new suits of armor made from a rare metal. He then advised them Khron decreed Miceral and Farrell were to be the new kings of Trellham and high kings of all dwarves.

  Khron’s anointing new kings spurred King Drendar and Father Lamenar of Fracturn to travel to Colograd for the first meeting of the dwarf kings in more than three thousand years. Drendar opposed the news, but Farrell and Miceral were able to convince both he and Thrinton to accept them as high kings. The two dwarf kings then pledged their support in defense of Agloth.

  With the new alliance settled, Farrell turned his attention to retrieving the Mind of Falcron. With magic and the help of Father Wasquar, High Priest of Khron for Colograd and Father Mendox, High Priest of Falcron, Farrell located the Mind in a corridor behind Wasquar’s personal quarters. The Gift, a small blank book, was not what Farrell expected, but he couldn’t dwell on the mystery.

  Having achieved what he went to Colograd to do, Farrell made plans to return to Agloth. With Seritia’s permission, Farrell opened a large Door between Colograd and Agloth. The dwarf nations each committed fifteen legions to the defense of Seritia’s city. They used Farrell’s Door to move their dwarves to Agloth.

  Farrell searched for Penelope, and the two discussed the magical defense of Agloth. Their talk devolved into an argument, and in an effort to find a more private place to speak, Farrell flew down from the walls of the city. In front of Agloth he discovered an odd patch of ground he knew hadn’t been there before.

  The defensive spells that ringed the city did not extend to the circle of affected dirt. They agreed to ask Mother Jolella about the discovery and returned to the discussion about the magical preparation. Farrell insisted he needed to face Vedric, and while unhappy with the decision, Penelope finally agreed it was the wisest course.

  Later in the day, Jolella accompanied Farrell and Penelope to the affected area. They discovered Farrell and Jolella could st
and inside the circle and nothing could touch them, not even magic. Although they knew what it did, they didn’t know why it was there. Unable to find an answer, they left to prepare for the attack.

  When Miceral arrived with the last of the dwarf soldiers, Farrell and Takala flew off to check on Vedric and to make sure his army didn’t arrive sooner than expected. Farrell kept them concealed, and the pair destroyed the invisibility spell Vedric used to hide his army. As they flew home, Farrell used the Eye to look in on Vedric’s response to surprise attack.

  Although angry, Vedric remained undeterred. He had received reinforcements from Meglar, including his cousin Brezlaw, who was a powerful wizard. Although Brezlaw suggested they retreat or at least pause, Vedric decided to continue with the invasion.

  Farrell’s attack gained the defenders another full day to prepare, and he and Nerti added one last defense to the city. They stopped at the circle in front of the city, and Farrell decided that was where he would confront his half brother.

  The next morning, Farrell and Nerti left Agloth and waited for Vedric. Inside, Miceral, Penelope, and the others readied the defenses. Farrell ignited a ring of fire around the city and watched the Chamdon rush through it, only to be cut down by the vast ring of magical defenses that protected Agloth.

  Vedric sent his wizards to disarm the defenses. Penelope and the other wizards were able to kill many of the enemy wizards, forcing Vedric and his senior wizards to help before any progress was made. Rather than let Vedric destroy all the defenses, Penelope turned off the protections and let the army charge the walls.

  Vedric stayed behind to confront Farrell, and they fought as the battle raged behind them. Farrell realized early in their fight he could defeat his sibling but let the fight continue hoping to learn something about his father’s fighting style. Once he realized he wouldn’t get anything helpful, Farrell attacked in earnest. He quickly had Vedric on his heels and was readying a killing blow when Nerti screamed. Their minds were connected during the fight, and her shout nearly shattered Farrell’s mind.

  The battle had proven to be one-sided. Without Vedric’s help, his army floundered against the powerful defenses of the city. Miceral had paused to assess what to do next when he noticed a large force of Chamdon heading his way and it was growing. Klissmor called for reinforcements, and Miceral prepared to meet the charge. Right away he noticed the attack was unusual. The Chamdon didn’t focus on their foes around them but rather on something else. By the time Klissmor figured out the target was Nordric, a small force had slipped around the main body of troops and was headed for Nordric and Peter.

  Miceral watched a Chamdon rip the horn from Nordric’s head just before Grohl crushed the creature’s head in his talon. Nerti screamed and Miceral turned in time to see a large burst of energy he knew wasn’t Farrell’s.

  Nerti’s scream incapacitated Farrell and gave Vedric a chance to recover. As Farrell readied a blow to kill Nerti to save himself, she ran off, leaving him nearly broken. Vedric loomed over Farrell and struck with a massive burst of power. The blow passed through Farrell’s body and kicked up dirt underneath him. Vedric struck several more times, all with similar results.

  Slowly, Farrell recovered and realized he was inside the circle and it had saved his life. He took the fight back to Vedric, and after a vicious exchange left Vedric panting, injured, and defenseless, Farrell hesitated when it came time to kill his brother. Seritia appeared and told him he needed to kill his brother. Vedric heard Seritia’s words and realized Farrell was his brother. He begged Farrell not to kill him, but when Farrell said he couldn’t do that, Vedric tried to curse him. Before his brother completed the curse, Farrell struck, killing Vedric.

  Takala came and carried Farrell back to Nordric. Everyone looked to him, hoping he could help their friend. Farrell asked the Eye to show him how to save Nordric and when it showed him nothing, he yelled for the Six to help him.

  Lenore appeared and told him She couldn’t help and Farrell needed to let the events play out as they were intended. She had Peter give Farrell Nordric’s horn. When Farrell asked why he should take it, Lenore simply insisted he accept or decline. When Farrell accepted the horn, a chill wind swept across the desert and when it passed, Nordric was gone.

  After helping with the wounded, they all returned to Penelope’s estate. Farrell and Miceral immediately rode off to visit Kel’s home. When they reached the barrier protecting the house, Miceral was barred from entering. As Farrell prepared to take it down, Kel appeared.

  Having finally found Kel alive, Farrell struggled with what to ask. Kel agreed to join them at Penelope’s the next day and asked them to give him one more day in his old house. Farrell and Miceral left and informed Penelope and then Markus about their discovery.

  Early the next morning, Grohl asked Farrell if they could practice fighting the way he and Takala had in Lourdria. Farrell agreed when he realized Grohl would end up doing something foolish if they didn’t. While the pair were flying, they spotted Kel on a unicorn carrying two small children in his lap.

  Kel’s arrival touched off a flurry of activity and coincided with King Markus’s arrival. When Kel and Flemin arrived in the courtyard, Nerti and Klissmor rushed to see their long-missing son. Flemin explained Lenore had tasked him with helping Kel, and since Kel was pretending to be dead, he had to do the same.

  Farrell asked about the children, and Kel said he learned centuries ago that Neldin had been targeting his descendants. He had managed to save the two children after their parents had been killed. At Honorus’s direction, Kel placed them in the same sleeping spell he used to preserve his life. When asked why, Kel explained he needed time to find them new parents. Smiling, he said Honorus had chosen Farrell and Miceral.

  Farrell and Miceral returned to Haven after they found Kel. With Kel’s help, Farrell tested a theory on how to free the dwarves that entailed looking back through time. The idea only partially worked. He could recreate Kel’s spell, but he couldn’t find the dwarves. After some reflection, Farrell decided he needed the Ear of Lenore to complete his task.

  Nerti was the guardian of the Ear, and she informed Farrell that he could retrieve Lenore’s Gift from Primilian, the birthplace of the Muchari. Together, Farrell and Miceral set out with Horgon, Rothdin, Nerti and Klissmor. When they arrived on Primilian, they found Hesnera, Rothdin’s wife, as well as Miceral’s grandfather.

  Nerti and Farrell rode alone to the northern end of the island. Before they reached the Ear’s resting place, they encountered the guardians of the Ear, spirits who eschewed their final rest to help Nerti guard Lenore’s Gift. The ghosts, however, were not convinced they should give the Ear to Farrell. The wizard Beatrice revealed herself from among the guardians and tried to help Farrell and Nerti, but she was unsuccessful. Finally, Nordric appeared and told the spirits he was the messenger of Lenore and they needed to let his mother and Farrell pass through the forest. The ghosts relented and left with Nordric to go to their final home.

  The Ear was in the cave where Honorus and Lenore created the Muchari. Inside the cave Farrell found the Ear as well as a unicorn horn. Unsure what to do with the horn, he took it with him.

  Back at Haven, Farrell and Kel made a second attempt to free the dwarves of Trellham. Using the Ear, Farrell was able to communicate with the dwarves and bring them home. When the last dwarf cleared the threshold, Kel’s spell unraveled and alerted the world that the dwarves were free. Though pleased they had freed the dwarves, Farrell and his advisors feared they’d tipped their hand too soon to Meglar.

  A few days after the dwarves returned to Trellham, a large force of Chamdon was detected moving across the conquered lands. Using the Eye of Honorus, Farrell showed his advisors the approaching army, and Erstad, Cylinda, and Wesfazial recognized Tixel, the wizard leading the army. The army was headed toward Trellham. They believed it a trap designed to draw Farrell out so Meglar could learn the identity of the wizard who had been fighting him. Although reluctant to let his
friends fight his battle, Farrell agreed to let them handle Tixel.

  Once the fight began, Farrell realized that Tixel was channeling for Meglar. Desperate to help his friends, Farrell was stopped by Glendora, who was acting on Lenore’s orders. She chastised Farrell for not listening to the others when they were trying to preserve his life. Angry that Glendora and Lenore would let his friends die, he was about to defy them when Glendora showed him the truth. Farrell learned that Cylinda was really his mother, Erstad was Heminaltose, and Wesfazial was Sanduval.

  Stunned by what he saw, he had to put aside his shock and help his mother and former teachers. During the battle, Heminaltose and the others revealed themselves to Meglar in the hope he would think it was they who had been resisting him. Enraged at the deception, Meglar tried to use too much power through his servant and in the process killed Tixel.

  Farrell’s reunion with his mother was cut short when Miceral called him to deal with a magical cloud that was destroying Haven’s defenses. When Farrell arrived, he decided that he and Nerti would need to attack the cloud from the inside. With help from his mother and the mentors, Farrell was able to unwind Meglar’s weapon and neutralize the threat.

  Now that Meglar knew his enemies weren’t killed as he thought, Farrell and the others decided to convene a war council with all their allies. Traveling to Belsport, Farrell and the other kings in exile were joined by King Christian of Honal and King Heldin of Pelipan. King Markus of Dumbarten and Amelt Randgar of Ze’arder joined them as well. After Zenora, Heminaltose, and Sanduval told the others their true identities, Kel and Glendora bound everyone to an oath of silence. Farrell then revealed to the group he was really Prince Halloran of Yar-del. After the initial uproar subsided, the group made plans to resist Meglar. Before everyone left, Markus told Farrell that the entire Yar-del navy survived the war with Zargon. That his mother had made a deal with Dumbarten to use Trag, a small island off the coast of Dumbarten, as their naval base. Now that Zenora had returned, Markus agreed to give the naval vessels back to Zenora.