THE CHRONICLES OF DAGAD TRIKON
Instalment 2
Visibly the attendants were taking heart as the Kavach showed its impact. With each utterance, a stream of power was flowing from an innermost state whose compact force was now forcefully released. To all the attendants, the living names were also beautiful and melodious. Esitel too, her eyes closed, was experiencing them like multicolor jewels of sounds, carried by waves of breezy grace. Each name resounded with delicate echoes, dissolving in her head, granting progressive relief
During the reading of the Kavach, Evenyl had felt a cursing pain in her left thigh, shivering in her body, sensations of pressure and, finally, burning around both the sides of her head. Now consciousness was back in her eyes. The protective coat of the Kavach's holiness infused energy in every named part of Evenyl's shattered body.
By the time Elkaim Ekamonon finished reading the Book of the Kavach, the grip of tension and fears was loosened and she fully recovered from the terror in which she had been drowning, freed from the insidious sorcery of Thanatophor. The rhythm died down, the Sand Keeper had reached the end. His voice was now ringing in the ears of the wounded girl: "Come back Evenyl, come back. These are the names of power, the sounds woven in the texture of the shawl of the High Lady, the magic shawl of Eleksim. "
A voice spoke behind the Sand Keeper:
"The outside is within. As in the heavens, so it is below. The power that made the stars resides also in our cells. That which is immense can make itself minuscule. Why build temples? We are the temples."
Lidholon was sitting cross-legged on his bed, his back leaning on the wall behind. He had fully absorbed the Kavach incantation and his impact on his own wounds. The recognition of its power had compelled him to speak. He was pale but the light in his eyes was shining.
And at this very moment, the blessing of the Kavach further manifested in an unexpected way. Another voice, a voice they knew well, came from the entrance of the chamber of healing:
"Well spoken brother. It seems you have correctly stated one of the riddles of the Deep Way."
Lidholon and Evenyl got up clumsily. A tall archer was standing before them, carrying a bow on his back, his dirtied clothes in tatters, tired but happy: Etakir, commander of the Yuva platoon, one of the few Avasthas who had the access code to the sanctuary of the Sand Keeper. They stared in delighted disbelief.
They had thought he too had perished. "Etakir, Etakir, o my God…" Awaken by the fracas and all the joyous shouting, Esitel slowly got up too and joined them. The four of them formed the rakhi circle, heads against heads, arms on each others shoulders; linked by the bond of brothers and sisters, they called the Deep Way, feeling its lightness and serenity. Eyes smiling, Elkaim rejoiced at the scene: this was the oneness that carried the sap of the unmatched Avasthic culture. It was still alive.
The friends talked late in the night. Esitel and Evenyl cried again when Etakir described how the heroes of the yuva platoon perished. Hanomkar had smashed a hundred foes but Abuzinal ordered his bowmen to target him all at once. A thick volley of arrows pierced him; Aliskhan was fatally wounded in a vain attempt to shield his dying friend. Etakir saw how Lidholon and the Sheravalians escaped and he covered their flight. He narrated how himself, Olophon of Elnur and the great puma of Erilie, rallying all the remaining felines of the Gundaldhar canyon, had attacked Abuzinal, creating a commotion in the enemy ranks that they exploited to retrieve the bodies of their fallen companions. The survivors from the Yuva Platoon and the Blue Watch retreated with Etakir in the Cave of the Lady of Dagad Trikon. Indeed, Etakir, as the commander of the Yuva Platoon, knew also the unlocking mechanism of the entrance to the Cave of Wonders.
They entrusted the bodies of the fallen warriors to the indigo blue water of the bottomless pond lying at the center of the abandoned cave. Their earthly remains would rest in peace in the holiness of this liquid shrine.
At dusk, fugitive in their own land, they exited the cave and forcefully fought their way through the company of the dark horde left behind to watch the surroundings of the sacred cave. After this, the whereabouts of Olophon were unknown. He was last seen climbing a tree at the edge of the misty woods and vanishing under the foliage. The warriors of the Avasthic Houses knew a few undisclosed paths through ropes connecting the highest branches of the giant trees and this was the manner in which he escaped.
Evenly was split between the joy to see Etakir again and the mourning brought back by his story. Lidholon was gazing beyond the room, into an unknown land, as if to find back the trace of his departed brothers of arms.
They rested the entire next day. Perhaps because of a newfound proximity or the gravity of the circumstances, the companions felt much closer to the Sand Keeper. The elusive dweller of the highlands had been for the citizen of Shambalpur a remote lord of mystery. In the evening, the attendants of the wizard brought two wounded guards of the Nizam Household regiment to the chamber of healing. Esitel and Evenyl moved in another room to leave them space. The soldiers were overjoyed that Etakir and Lidholon had survived. They brought a grim update on the waning battle.
"The Blue Watch has been wiped out. The accursed horde is flooding the lowlands. They have taken the ponds, the canals and the underground water reservoirs. Columns are flocking the mountain trails to conquer the upper floors of the canyons and the mountains. They are swarming the surroundings of this very peak, guided by a pack of high sorcerers, feverishly looking for the secret base of the great wizard. However there are still some areas that are safe. The survivors of my regiment followed the lord Olophon and have joined the rangers of Kalabham to hold the impenetrable gorges around the three music towers. Yet where is the hope? The damage brought to our land is fatal. The water is turning brown, the vegetation withers in dryness, the very air carries a foul stench."
- This is precisely what happens when evil takes over a land that once was holy. Mother earth expresses her displeasure. Lay safely in this chamber and take a respite." Etakir affectionately comforted the soldiers and together with Lidholon and the helpers of Elkaim, attended to their wounds.
The following morning, Gnorthos, the first secretary of the Sand Keeper, an eminent scholar of the school of Falkiliad, was instructed to show the extraordinary library of the Rock Avasthas to the four companions. He was the keeper of the library and rare were the occasions to open its content to outside visitors because the effect of the magic of the Gnostic library on those who had not received advanced training in the Deep Way was unpredictable. This offer from the lord of the Highlands was a rare privilege for his visitors and a mark of his personal esteem. The librarian was eager to oblige, as the young visitors were warriors of renown whose prowess had been sang in happier days by the minstrels in the hall of festival of Shambalpur.
It was said that the library had the magic to translate knowledge into direct experience. Not knowing what to expect but full of curiosity, Etakir, Lidholon, Esitel and Evenly followed their guide. They stood in awe at the bottom of the impressive vertical construction that reached a height of forty meters, filling the central cavern of the wizard' hideout. This is where secrets were stored and riddles could be cracked. .
instalment 3