Much as any other giant, he stood a man and a half tall and was thick with muscle, his face a slab of forehead and angular lines, long moustache hanging and bound with leather. A tattoo of vine and thorn trailed up one arm and partway down the other. The things that were different about him when compared to other giants were his hair and weapons. His hair was shaved from his head, apart from a thick black strip across the centre of his skull, plaited into his warrior braid. And he wielded twin axes, single-bladed rather than one of the double-bladed variety that most giants chose. He usually wore them across his back, but now they were leaning against a wall, long-shafted with hooked, bearded blades.
‘Yes, me. I am not Ben-Elim, but I have a little knowledge inside this head of mine.’ He prodded his temple with a thick finger.
Jin looked as if she didn’t quite believe him.
‘What are you looking at?’ Bleda asked, moving over to look at the table. A huge parchment was spread out, a map inked upon it. Bleda frowned as he stared at it, for at first it had looked like a map of the Banished Lands, but where the Land of the Faithful now existed, it was divided into different realms. Bleda smiled to see Arcona, a broad expanse to the east of the dark stain that was Forn Forest.
‘Isiltir, Carnutan, Helveth, Tenebral,’ Bleda read. ‘What are these places?’ he asked.
‘That is the Banished Lands before the Day of Wrath,’ Alcyon said. ‘There were many realms then.’
‘Where have they gone?’ Bleda asked.
‘They have been welcomed into the Protectorate of the Ben-Elim, become part of the Land of the Faithful,’ Alcyon said.
Is this what will happen to Arcona? Bleda thought, a shiver of fear rippling through him, Absorbed into the Protectorate, as if it had never existed.
‘Sit,’ Alcyon said, waving a hand and rolling up the map.
There was a table and bench for their letters, with sheaves of parchment, quills, pots of ink, blotters, a supply of salt and powders of ground cuttlefish. If writing was not required, there were other chairs that they would usually take – more comfortable, covered in leather and fur – usually used when a subject that required a level of deeper thinking was being taught.
Bleda took one look at Alcyon’s huge hands and concluded that he would not be teaching the art of letters, and so sat in a more comfortable chair of leather, draped with fur. Jin followed suit, though she dragged her chair over so that she was much closer to Bleda.
‘What are you teaching us, then, with that knowledgeable brain of yours?’ Jin asked Alcyon, keeping her face free of the sarcasm Bleda was sure lurked behind her dark eyes. She wiped a stray strand of her jet-black hair from her face, her glance flickering to Bleda, the hint of a smile twitching her lips.
Alcyon walked around the table and sat on the bench, the wood creaking. He smiled and spread his arms wide.
‘What would you like me to teach you?’
‘Jibril never gives us a choice!’ Jin said, surprised.
Bleda shot her a dark look.
‘Strategies of war,’ Bleda said hurriedly, thinking to make the most of this slip in Ben-Elim discipline.
Alcyon frowned, his massive brow bunching like a storm cloud.
‘And how does Jibril teach that?’ he rumbled.
‘Battles are described, the forces involved, opposing sides. Numbers, styles of combat, strengths, weaknesses. Strategies and tactics,’ Bleda said with a wave of his hand. Jin looked at him, a broad smile, smoothed away quickly.
‘Ah, I see,’ Alcyon said, regarding them both thoughtfully. Bleda thought he’d seen through his plan, but then Alcyon nodded. ‘All right then. The Battle of Drassil. Midwinter’s Day, the first Year of Lore.’
‘We’ve heard that one so many times,’ Bleda said. It was true, they had. All about the Ben-Elim’s triumphant entry into the Banished Lands, saving the beleaguered forces of mankind from the overwhelming numbers of Kadoshim and their terrible allies. Jin pulled a bored face.
‘What battle, then?’ Alcyon said.
‘Name some,’ Bleda said with a shrug.
‘The Battle of Dun Bagul: that one was fought twenty years after Drassil.’ He looked at them both.
‘Can we hear a few others, then choose?’ Jin asked sweetly.
Alcyon shrugged, making his bench creak again. ‘The Battle of Haldis, a few years before Drassil. Domhain Pass. Gramm’s Hold, Taur—’
‘What about the Battle of Varan Falls,’ Bleda said.
Alcyon frowned at him. ‘How have you heard of that one?’ he asked.
‘Jibril’s mentioned it,’ Jin said.
‘He has?’
He did, but only to dismiss the idea of ever telling us about it.
‘Why would you think he wouldn’t?’ Bleda asked Alcyon.
‘Because that was a bad day for the Ben-Elim, that one.’ He paused. ‘A grievous day for us all.’ Quieter.
‘It’s important to analyse the defeats, so that they do not happen again, no?’ Bleda said.
‘True,’ Alcyon murmured, rubbing his chin. He stared past them, a faraway look in his eyes. ‘Very well, then.’
Alcyon tugged on his moustache.
‘First of all, it isn’t the Battle of Varan Falls. It’s the Battle of Varan’s Fall.’
‘Oh. I thought it must have taken place close to a waterfall, or something like that,’ Jin said.
‘Well, it did, which adds to the confusion. It took place in the north-west of Forn Forest. But it was given its name because it was the battle where Varan fell.’
‘Varan?’
‘A giant, great amongst us,’ Alcyon said, a sadness behind his eyes. ‘And my friend. He was brave and loyal. Lord of the Jotun Clan for a short time, before he bent the knee to Ethlinn as she united the Clans and we became one; what was left of us.’
A silence fell as Alcyon drifted in thought. Bleda saw the giant differently, then, if only for a few moments. Until now he had only ever thought of the Ben-Elim, the giants and White-Wings as the Victors. The triumphant, conquering army that were strangers to loss and defeat. Briefly he saw grief writ across Alcyon’s face, in his eyes, and for a few heartbeats felt a sense of kinship with him, a bond created between those who suffered the same pain.
Alcyon shook his head.
‘We had information that the Kadoshim were building a fortress, secreted in the north-east of Forn. Our informants spoke of a place built largely beneath the ground, a subterranean structure of labyrinthine tunnels. So, we set out to find it. Giants, Ben-Elim, White-Wings. And we worked with our allies, the Order of the Bright Star.’
‘I thought there was bad blood between the Order and Drassil?’ Bleda said. ‘Aren’t they not to be trusted?’
‘The Order? I would trust any one of them with my life, and frequently have.’ Alcyon shrugged, an acknowledgement. ‘There are some trust issues, between the Order and the Ben-Elim, aye. But the Kadoshim are enemy of all, and the Order are as fervent in their hatred of the Kadoshim as the Ben-Elim are.’
‘But I—’ Bleda began, but Alcyon held his hand up.
‘If you wish to hear of the Battle of Varan’s Fall before horns sound and you’re wanted in the prayer-hall, then I suggest you hold your words.’
Bleda and Jin nodded silently.
‘A force marched from Drassil, me amongst them. Other giants, Balur leading us. The White-Wings, and Ben-Elim.’