"The Tingaran Empire is gone," Miro said, "and the brief rule of the Primate is over. It is up to men like us to decide what comes next. Whatever happens, we must never again let any one man control the world's essence, just as we must keep a wary eye on the powerful relics the Evermen left behind."
"A worthy sentiment," Evrin spoke from his seat, leaning against the Sentinel's big toe. "As soon as I'm well enough, I'll help you rebuild the machines that once resided in Stonewater. Extracting essence from the dead may work for the Akari, but essence taken from lignite works just as well."
"Wait," Ella said, causing all eyes to be on her. "Before we say anything more, I think it's time."
"Time for what?" Miro said.
Ella turned to Evrin. "It's time to know the truth. Killian left us," her voice caught, "so that he could prevent the return of the Evermen. Twice now you've asked everything of him, and twice he's given you everything. All he ever wanted was to know the truth. Yet he left without ever knowing. It's time we knew, Evrin Evenstar."
"I'm wounded," Evrin protested.
"Then the sooner you start, the sooner you'll see a healer," Ella said. "None of us are leaving this island until we know the truth. It's time," she repeated.
Evrin bowed his head. "I suppose it is. I used to think the best protection lay in ignorance, but the Primate has proven me wrong. Listen to me well, for I will not repeat myself."
Ella and Miro exchanged glances. Soon they all clustered around the old man.
72
"MY NAME is Evrin Evenstar," he began. "I'm not sure how old I am, but I have walked Merralya for at least a thousand years. Please put aside everything you have learned from the Evermen Cycles, for what you have learned is a lie, and what I am now telling you is the real truth."
Ella and her brother exchanged glances. Ella looked at Evrin and now saw the passage of centuries behind his eyes, and as he spoke power came to his voice, so that Ella could believe that this was the man who created the Lexicons.
"Long ago, the Evermen ruled the world. Not just these lands here that you call the Tingaran Empire. No, I speak of long before the empire even existed. The Evermen ruled all of Merralya, and everyone in it."
The crashing of the waves against the island sounded against Evrin's words. Evrin closed his eyes for a moment and then resumed.
"Humans were our workers. You could use the term slaves. Like all slaves, you were given work."
Evrin looked into the distance, and Ella wondered what he saw.
"Some of you processed essence for our use. You were taught to use the machines, but you didn't need lore of your own, and were never taught any."
"Templars," Amber murmured.
"Some of you, however, were taught to utilise lore. You built our cities and you manufactured our tools and gadgets. You constructed machines to do the labour that you were not capable of doing yourselves. Some of you created illusions to entertain us."
Evrin moved his leg and winced, looking at Ella, before he continued.
"Ours was a beautiful world, filled with wonder. Yet when I say ours, I do not include you humans, I refer to my brothers and myself. You were our playthings, our toys, our servants and our slaves. You did what we commanded, and we did with you what we willed. Your lives were in our hands, and you lived and died, loved and gave birth at our command. You were no threat to us, for we were all-powerful. We could kill you with barely more than a thought. We lived forever and we knew everything."
Evrin licked his lips. "Or so we thought."
Ella looked up at the Sentinel, and thought about Stonewater, and the Pinnacle, and the incredible power the Evermen had possessed.
"My brothers and I each took a god-name to impress our subjects. There was Varian Vitrix, who you might know as the Lord of the Earth. Pyrax Pohlen was the Lord of the Sun. I am Evrin Evenstar, but you would know me as the Lord of the Sky."
Ella couldn't believe what she was hearing. It turned upside down everything she had ever been taught about the Evermen. She could understand now why Evrin had kept them all in ignorance. Who would cast down their own gods?
"There was one of us, Sentar Scythran, the Lord of the Night…"
Dain Barden looked up, his gaze intent.
"You," Evrin said. "Dain of the Akari. You need to hear this most of all."
Barden's knuckles were white as he gripped the hammer at his belt.
"Sentar Scythran found his slaves' free will to be offensive. He didn't humans having emotions or singing songs. He didn't want his subjects speaking to him out of turn, or breeding without his permission. Sentar Scythran preferred to be served by the dead."
Ella wondered how the Dain would react to Evrin's words.
"None of us took much notice. We were powerful and knowledgeable, and we could do almost anything we set our minds to. Drawing runes on a corpse and teaching it to pour wine was nothing to us."