"There was nothing I could do. He could kill me with no questions asked — I was a problem to the priests as it was. One of the templars stood nearby, nodding, waiting for him to stick me.
"I began to thrash around, if I was going to die, it wasn’t going to be quick and easy. The templar kicked me, but the man made him back away.
"‘He is my problem now,’ the Halrana said.
"He made me go with him to a great tent that had been erected on the outskirts of town, where they had set up a travelling show in hope of making money from the wealthy pilgrims. There was an acrobat, an animal trainer, a juggler, and an escape artist. The Halrana was an acrobat. He made me work there, to do everything he told me." Killian’s voice continued expressively, he gave the story richness with his voice. "I loved that man."
"What was his name?" Ella asked.
"Marney. His name was Marney Beldara. He was the best acrobat I have ever seen. He taught me every day; he fed me and clothed me. I soon became good, very good." Killian gestured with his hands.
"Then I met a woman. Her name was Carla. She wasn’t beautiful, but she was clever, and she made me laugh. She joined the troupe as we travelled around Tingara."
Killian took a deep breath. "I didn’t like Tingara. It was worse than Aynar, much worse. I could see the urchins lurking around the big tent, picking pockets in the crowd. The beggars there had it worse that I ever did. I heard that the streetclans in Seranthia taught the children sweet songs and then crippled them terribly, sending them out to beg."
Ella put her hand to her mouth. "That’s awful."
Killian nodded. "Carla and I became lovers. One night, we left the camp and stole into Seranthia to be alone together. To see the night shows. When we returned, the camp was gone. The big tent was no more."
Ella held her breath.
"It had all been burned to the ground. I asked everyone in the area what had happened, but no one would talk to me. Finally an old woman told me they’d been taken by the legion. Someone from the crowd had reported that the troupe was spreading sedition against the Emperor. All I could remember was Marney saying something about helping the street children."
Killian’s voice began to shake with emotion. "We arrived in Seranthia just as they were lined up along the top of the Wall, along with a bunch of other ‘seditionists’. We could see the blood on their skin; they’d been cut to pieces by the whip. They were all there. They were my family. We watched as they were pushed off the Wall, their bodies broken beyond recognition when they hit the bottom. Carla left me then. I didn’t blame her. Marney was her father."
Tears slid silently down Ella’s face, but Killian didn’t notice. He seemed to be living the events all over again.
"I buried them all, as best as I could. I dug their graves in the forest with my hands, carrying their poor, destroyed bodies one by one. Then I went back to the ruins of the camp, where nothing but the corpses of the stage animals in their blackened cages remained. I don’t know how long I stayed there.
"Eventually I made my way back to Salvation. I started to steal again, but this time I don’t think I cared whether I was caught or not. I got into trouble a few times, and I broke some bones. Then I stole from a templar but my body gave up on me." Killian shrugged. "They put me into a cell in Stonewater, and one day they gave me something to drink, some kind of black potion. The templars watched me carefully. It tasted strange but it didn’t affect me, and they were excited."
"What do you think it was?" Ella asked.
"I really don’t know. Then one day I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned, and there he was. He asked me my name, and I told him. He said, ‘Do not fear Killian, for all your troubles are now over.’
"I asked him who he was, but I think I already knew. He took me in, cared for me. He gave me a small house in Salvation, with my own guards and everything. I call him my master."
"Who was it?" Ella said.
"Primate Melovar Aspen, Primate of the Assembly of Templars."
Killian looked away, and they continued their long march.
~
ELLA digested the information as if worrying at a piece of meat. Something strange was occurring. The templars had no lore, no knowledge about runes or matrices or activation sequences. However they possessed essence in abundance.
The templars kept the secret formulas for producing essence. They had the relics of the Evermen that created the black liquid.