Knights The Hand of Tharnin

chapter 15: The Wrath of Winter

The next day, as they rode into the Northern Bloodlands, the snow came. It quickly blanketed the forest of Mother Trees around them. The riders put on fur cloaks, and the pace didn't falter even as the snow piled up in the road. Thankfully, the snow and cold reduced the stench of the Bloodlands enough to make it bearable. The road, however, was badly overgrown with thick roots--as Rangers only cleared it twice a year--and the snow partially concealed these obstacles and caused the horses to stumble now and then.

They hoped the snow was temporary, but it held steady during their remaining voyage through the Bloodlands, until even the roots in the road were completely lost from view. Travel slowed significantly. The Knights had not anticipated winter arriving so early and with such vigor, but the Greywinds were up to the challenge. These huge horses--unique to Dremlock Kingdom--were almost unstoppable when it came to navigating rough terrain. The Knights knew that no blizzard, however intense, would halt their journey to the Bonefrost Mountains.

Beyond the Bloodlands were the Boulder Plains, upon which lay the long expanse of the Grey Lake. In the summer, those journeying north typically took a ferry across the lake, and in the winter they traveled over the frozen waters when the ice was thick enough. The Grey Lake was so vast that journeying around it could cost a rider on horseback a week of travel. Furlus was concerned the ice would not yet hold them, and so when they reached the shore, they camped for three uneventful days while the snow fell and the temperature dropped. Fresh meat was abundant, and some of the Rangers even dared venture onto the ice to fish.

At last Furlus deemed the ice safe enough to cross, and the army continued on. Small groups were sent, spaced far apart to reduce the stress on the ice. The first group to go consisted of the Rangers, who were the most qualified to discover weak spots in the ice. Behind them followed some of the Red Knights, to guide the Divine Shield that came next.

When the Rangers were about halfway across, they began to shout back warnings. Lannon could barely see them up ahead through the swirling snow, their horses moving about frantically. Using the Eye of Divinity, Lannon glimpsed boulders and chunks of ice raining down on the Rangers. One of the men had been knocked off his horse and lay bleeding in the snow.

Furlus, who rode alongside Lannon, shouted for the Rangers to retreat to the rear and for the Red Knights to hold position. They lifted the injured man onto horseback, but a large boulder crashed down on another Ranger and her horse, driving them down through the ice. The other Rangers tried to rescue her but quickly realized both she and the horse had met a sad end. Furlus again shouted for them to retreat. They left her and galloped past, as more rocks and ice chunks rained down on the spot where they had been.

"Our foes have a catapult!" Furlus bellowed. "They intend to smash us into the cold waters and be done with us!"

"We should strike back with our own catapults!" said Thrake, his eyes blazing.

"Let the Red Knights handle it," said Furlus. "We need to end this quickly." He ordered them to charge, and the Red Knights sped forward, their heavy lances burning with the fires of sorcery.

"Master Furlus," said Shennen, "we should fall back to protect the Squires. I believe we're in range of their attack."

But Furlus wasn't listening. He continued to shout orders at the Red Knights as they charged through the snow, even as rocks and ice started to rain down amongst them. A large rock descended straight for Jerret. Lannon only had an instant to react, but he managed to seize the boulder with his power and shove it away from Jerret. The rock nearly touched the top of Jerret's head before crashing down through the ice and throwing freezing water all over the shocked Squire and his horse. But Jerret rode on a Greywind, and the horse had nerves of steel. The animal reared up only slightly before regaining its composure.

Lannon was amazed at what he'd done on pure instinct. He wouldn't have thought the Eye was powerful enough to deflect a falling boulder. It was almost as if the Eye had locked onto the boulder by its own will.

"Retreat!" Furlus roared, his eyes wide.

The Divine Shield turned and charged away from the falling boulders. However, a chunk of ice struck Jace on the shoulder and knocked him off his horse. As Jace fell, his horse lost its balance and toppled over with him. The impact of the ice chunk, the huge horse, and the heavy rider caused the frozen lake surface to give way, and Jace was gone in a splash. The Greywind managed to half leap and half scramble to safety, and the horse immediately went to the hole and lowered its head in an effort to save Jace. But when Jace failed to emerge, another falling ice chunk caused the horse to gallop after the Divine Shield.

Aldreya cried out in despair. "Jace has fallen!" She slowed her horse, but Furlus ordered her onward until the falling objects could no longer reach them.

Furlus commanded everyone to halt, and they turned, anxiously watching the sky. They could hear the Red Knights shouting in the distance and catch glimpses of flame and spark through the snowflakes. Finally, a pillar of black smoke rose into the sky and Furlus grinned.

"I think their catapult will soon be ash," said the Grey Dwarf.

"Jace went under," said Aldreya, tears in her eyes.

Furlus nodded. "I saw it. When, and if, it's safe to cross, I promise you we'll search for him, and the Ranger that went down as well. At least, I would like to retrieve their bodies for a proper funeral."

Lannon and Jerret exchanged stunned glances. Lannon couldn't believe that Jace was gone so quickly and easily. Jace seemed so flamboyant--almost invincible, considering how long he'd lived. Suddenly, the world seemed far colder. Lannon realized how much he'd depended on Jace's guidance. As strange as the giant had been, he'd seemed to know things that even the wisest Knights did not.

Vannas bowed his head. "Jace was good man."

"Don't give up on him yet," said Furlus. "Jace is a powerful sorcerer and sorcerers are very hard to kill. Taris has proven that. But yes, it doesn't look good for him, my young friends. Stay strong."

At last one of the Red Knights rode back and informed them that the siege engine was destroyed, and the Goblins that had been controlling it were dead. The way ahead was clear.

However, reports from the rear were not so promising. Two of their own large catapults had broken partially through the ice, and the Knights were struggling fiercely to keep them from sinking. One of the heavily laden wagons had also broken through and would have to be emptied and abandoned.

As Furlus had promised, they searched for Jace and the fallen Ranger. The Ranger's body and that of her horse were pulled from the water, but Jace was not found. Lannon even probed the water with the Eye of Divinity. But when no sign of Jace turned up, Furlus concluded he'd been swept away under the ice and was dead. They held a quick funeral for the two, while the Squires and some of the Knights looked on in dismay, and then resumed their journey.

They came to the charred remains of a large catapult that was half sunken through the ice and the bodies of two Goblin Lords and three Ogres. The Ogres were chained to the siege engine, and it had taken several lance strikes to bring them down. One of the Red Knights who'd charged the catapult had been crushed by an Ogre's fist. Using some of the remaining wood from the catapult, the Knights built a funeral pyre for the dead--which became blazing hot even in the swirling snow thanks to Knightly sorcery.

After that, with heavy hearts they continued on across the Grey Lake and encountered no further ambushes. Also, thanks to a more watchful eye and focused effort, they were able to keep the siege engines and remaining wagons from breaking through the ice. The snow fell harder toward evening, as they set up camp. Soon a village of large tents was erected upon the frozen lake, with snow drifting up amidst the camp. The horses were given feedbags.

However, the snow was piling up so deep that both the siege engines and the wagons were becoming very difficult to pull, even for the powerful Greywind horses. They decided they would have to abandon the siege engines on the lakeshore and concentrate their energy on the wagons, which were lighter and specially modified for winter travel. It was a serious blow to their war plans, and Furlus was enraged over the fact that it had taken so long for the army to form and leave Dremlock. Now winter had struck early and with terrible force, and Dremlock's mighty siege engines would have to be left behind.

The Divine Shield gathered for a meeting in one of the tents, and the mood was grim. Furlus considered ordering the army back to Dremlock, after being pressured by Shennen, Thrake, and Trenton. But ultimately the Tower Master decided to press on, without giving much of a clear reason. Lannon suspected that Furlus was thinking of Taris Warhawk's plight and of the fact that the Red Knights with their heavy lances were like lesser siege engines themselves. As long as the supplies held out, the Knights were still prepared for war.

***

Later that night, with the snowy wind howling outside their tent, the Squires sat in quiet contemplation of Jace's apparent death. Thanks once again to the fires of sorcery, the interior of the tent was warm and dry. Whenever the temperature cooled a bit, one of the Squires would ignite a weapon blade, projecting the heat throughout the interior. The sorcery was not limitless, as it drained energy from the caster each time it was used and would eventually cause complete exhaustion, but Aldreya, Vannas, and Jerret exchanged heating duties to keep from tiring--and all three had a lot of energy to spare. Although Jerret lacked the precise control necessary to dry out clothing, he could still generate a considerable heat from his blade.

Lannon simply lay back and tried to enjoy the warmth, but his mind was cold. He was just as distraught over Jace's death as Aldreya was. He couldn't accept the notion that Jace had perished so easily.

But the Squires had underestimated the huge sorcerer, for later that night when they were beginning to drift off to sleep, the tent door opened and Jace wandered in. He sat down without saying a word. His skin looked frozen, and a strange fog clung to his purple cloak. His eyes seemed haunted and held a bizarre, distant look.

The Squires were delighted and amazed, but their joy was tainted by the realization that something seemed drastically wrong with the giant. Aside from looking half frozen, his appearance was somehow sinister. He seemed engulfed in a disturbing aura that sent chills over their flesh. The fog curled off him like little, twisting snakes.

"I'm so happy you're alive, Jace!" Aldreya said, but she didn't smile and she kept her distance from him. "What happened to you?"

Jace shrugged. "I fell. Into some water. It was cold."

"It's good to have you back, my friend," said Prince Vannas, managing a smile. "However, you look very...well, cold, I guess."

"I was in a cold place," said Jace. He sighed. "Yes, a very cold place."

Jerret glanced at Lannon with fear in his eyes. Lannon knew Jerret was thinking the same thing he was--that Jace may have become contaminated somehow by the Deep Shadow. It would explain how he'd survived the fall through the ice. The Deep Shadow was known to give some of its victims extraordinary endurance, to the point where some were nearly invincible.

Lannon probed Jace with the Eye of Divinity, but all he could see was a hazy wall of fog that seemed to pop up to block his power. Jace fixed his grey eyes on Lannon and gave him a humorless grin.

Lannon's power faltered. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, perfectly fine," said Jace. He fumbled inside his cloak with a frozen-looking hand and produced his pipe. But it fell from his trembling fingers.

"I'll warm you with my dagger," said Vannas, drawing his blade.

"Allow me, cousin," said Aldreya, giving him a look of warning. She ran her burning dagger over Jace's flesh, but he seized her wrist.

"Uncle Jace is perfectly fine," he insisted, pushing her hand away. "I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back. And perfectly fine. Perfectly..."

"Does Shennen know you've returned?" said Lannon.

"Not yet," said Jace. He started to say something, but his mouth closed again.

"Who is guarding our tent?" Lannon asked.

"Massack Fireheart," said Jace. He picked up his pipe and dropped it again. He gazed at the pipe with a curious expression.

Lannon grabbed a lantern and peered outside. A masked Blue Knight was standing rigid in the blizzard and gazing off into space, snow building up on his head. He looked as still as a statue. Chilled, Lannon ducked back inside.

"Massack looks kind of dazed," Lannon whispered to Vannas.

Vannas raised his eyebrows in bafflement. He casually produced the pouch containing the White Flamestone and held it in his lap.

"Massack is doing fine," said Jace, rubbing his hands together. "He's probably a little cold right now, though."

Lannon gulped. "Did you...do anything to him, Jace?"

"He asked me questions," said Jace. "And then he...fell silent."

"He fell silent?" said Lannon, chilled.

Jace nodded. "And so it goes..."

"You were struck by ice," said Aldreya. "Did it injure you?"

"Just a shattered shoulder," said Jace. "Nothing fatal." He rubbed his shoulder. "Bone fragments like puzzle pieces. Difficult to fit back together. When you move one piece into place, and it's the wrong fit...well, it's quite a pain. But it's all okay now, patched up good as new."

"Jace, what is wrong with you?" said Aldreya. "I'm delighted that you are alive, but something is quite amiss!"

"I look hideous, I imagine," said Jace. "Yes, I feel rather hideous too. Then again, I nearly drowned. And then came the bitter cold..."

"Are you hungry?" asked Lannon.

"I have no use for food," said Jace. "My belly is...deathly calm."

Aldreya shuddered and glanced helplessly at Lannon.

Lannon could only shake his head.

"Jerret, go and get Furlus," said Vannas.

Lannon nodded his agreement at the idea.

Jerret hesitated, then rose.

"Sit down, Squire," Jace commanded, his frozen gaze fixing on Jerret. "I'm not done talking yet. We have so many things to discuss."

His face pale, Jerret sat back down.

"I was dreaming in the deep," said Jace, puckering up his lips and blowing fog from his shoulder. "I was...dreaming. I saw the Hand of Tharnin crushing our army, while a great beast descended from the heavens. I saw the White Flamestone lying in pieces, and Lannon...Lannon was soaked in blood. The beast of Dremlock's doom is drawing closer..."

Jace closed his eyes. "Yes, I was lost in the fog...in an endless dream." For a moment he was silent, and then he added, "But then the dream did in fact come to an end. It always does. Goodbye, my young friends. I must sleep now and I may never...ever...ever...ever...awaken. Don't mourn me at all. Just forget this old fool..." He fell to one side, knocking over a water jug.

"I'm getting Furlus now!" Aldreya cried, and she leapt up and was gone from the tent so swiftly the others barely saw her move.

***

In spite of his bizarre appearance and behavior, Jace seemed back to his old self the next day. The strange fog that had clung to him was gone, and his skin had returned to its normal, somewhat pale hue. The light of awareness was back in his eyes, bringing with it his usual personality. Massack Fireheart also seemed normal again and couldn't recall acting dazed, though he admitted he'd been very tired while on guard duty and might have simply been daydreaming (which of course earned him some harsh words from Shennen).

When asked about his strange condition of the night before, Jace just sighed and answered, "I was seriously injured from a falling chunk of ice--an injury that may take weeks to fully heal, if it ever does heal properly--and I nearly drowned and froze to death at the same time. I got trapped under ice and swam around in a near panic, unable to find where I'd fallen through. As my body was beginning to fail, I barely managed to punch a hole through the ice, thanks to my sorcery, and crawl out into the freezing air. I lay there for quite some time like a gasping fish, unable to get up. Then I had to walk for what seemed like hours with my clothes soaking wet, with only my sorcery to warm me--hence the steam that was rising from my cloak--and again save me from certain death. Now, would you act normal immediately following such events?" Aside from that reply, Jace would say nothing more about it.

Still fearing that Jace could be under the Deep Shadow's influence, Lannon tried again to probe him with the Eye of Divinity, but again he saw nothing but a wall of fog. Jace was endlessly shielded to Lannon's power somehow. When Lannon finally asked about it, Jace replied, "Yes, I've learned a few tricks over the two centuries that I've been alive. Does that surprise you?"

When Lannon asked about Jace's predictions of future events, including Lannon ending up covered in blood, Jace replied: "I don't remember. But it may be something worth noting."

And so Lannon got nowhere in his investigation, and the Knights--even Trenton-- didn't seem interested and simply dismissed it all as strange sorcerer business. Regardless, Jace seemed normal enough (at least for Jace), talking and laughing and smoking his pipe. He eventually put Lannon at ease and the lad's mind wandered to other topics.

When they reached the lakeshore, they left their siege engines standing in the snow to wait for spring and were able to proceed at a faster pace across what remained of the Boulder Plains. For one afternoon, the snow let up and blue sky appeared, giving them hope that the wretched weather was behind them. Yet their hopes were soon dashed when the sky darkened again and a furious blizzard drove against them--the worst so far on the journey.

Travel slowed to a crawl as they forged ahead into the raging snowstorm. Visibility was reduced to almost nothing, forcing the Knights to hurriedly set up camp even though there were still a few hours of daylight remaining. They dared not be caught riding after dark, when it would be all too easy for some of them to get lost. They hunkered down sullenly in their tents, hoping the blizzard would let up by morning.

As the Squires sat eating bread and jerky by lantern light, Lannon explained how he was unable to use the Eye of Divinity on Jace. "Perhaps my power is growing weaker rather than stronger," he said, needing to talk about his fears.

"It doesn't matter," said Vannas. "We have a new power now, and there is no reason to fear. The White Flamestone is all we need."

"But you heard Jace tell of his dream," said Lannon, "of the Flamestone shattered and me...well, covered in blood." He winced as he said that last bit. "Jace is a sorcerer of some sort--though I admit certainly nothing like Taris--and his dreams could be visions of what the future might hold."

"Jace seemed out of his mind when he told us that," said Jerret. "He looked confused and maybe just plain crazy."

"I have to agree with Jerret," said Aldreya. "His behavior was very strange. I too was afraid the Deep Shadow was in his heart."

Vannas shrugged. "I should think the Divine Essence would know our fate better than Jace. I believe he was simply revealing his deepest fears."

Lannon said nothing more on the topic. As he drifted into sleep, the Eye of Divinity became the Eye of Dreams. Jace's vision merged with his own--as he saw Vannas struck down and the White Flamestone crushed by the swing of a heavy club even as some shadowy, winged horror descended from the sky. He saw himself covered in crimson but could not tell if the blood was his own. And finally, he saw the Hand of Tharnin reaching for his throat, as yellow eyes burned in the shadows. The smoldering gauntlet was far more powerful than the servants of the Divine Essence had imagined--a weapon forged with the will of the Deep Shadow for the sole purpose of destroying Dremlock Kingdom. The Divine Essence had given them the White Flamestone to oppose the Hand of Tharnin, but a third power--even greater than the other two--had awakened from its slumber. This third power, an unimaginable beast, was bearing down on Lannon, and he felt too weak to defend against it. And then the final ugly scene was revealed--the burning towers of Dremlock.