Gaia Town - The Tales of Taranis and Fearghas - 2. Rumors and Secrets

Taranis stared at the frozen image. "Lord Urien Maciomhair."

"Yes." Endora waved her hand, the image vanished and the surface of the mirror became liquid silver again. "You know how a warlord comes into power?" She covered the bowl with the white cloth, watching Taranis closely.

The ranger nodded. "By performing the Fāta."

Turning her head away from Taranis, Endora tried to hide her gleeful grin, but she forgot about the wolf. Looking directly into his yellow eyes, she felt his knowing gaze piercing through her. It made her shiver. "Exactly. A duel to the death, no weapons, no shields, no armor, and definitely no magic. It's grueling. Most of the times the challenger is a brother, the eldest son, or the lord's second in command, but sometimes it's a nameless warrior. Like Urien. He challenged Dagda Ruadhán, one of the minor warlords, and won. Then, after a year, the campaigns started. By and by, Urien attacked and conquered neighboring regions and soon became one of the most powerful warlords in the west. Everyone was surprised when he stopped at the borders of Lord Aeron Ó Taidhg's territory. There are rumors that the lord negotiated a non-aggression treaty with Urien, paying a steep price. The peace didn't last long, though. Reports of raids on Urien's border villages grew. According to my sources Urien warned Aeron several times, but after what we witnessed in the mirror today, I'd say it's a safe bet to state he'd finally had enough."

Fear rubbed his head against Taranis' thigh. 'She is surprisingly well informed, don't you think?'

The ranger bent down and ran his fingers through the wolf's fur, tapping his flank lightly. "You are well informed about things that are going on in such a faraway part of the island, Endora."

"In an establishment like mine it is never wrong to know what happens outside these four walls." Endora crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Take talking of an upcoming war, for example. A war can be good for business if it isn't too close, so I have to know, is it only a rumor, or are there valid indications I have to consider." She smiled. "We provide a relaxing atmosphere, the spirits flow freely, and clients talk. I always advise my gals and guys to listen carefully; you never know how important something said in the throws of passion could become. Knowledge means power." She frowned. "With that in mind, I find it quite disturbing I didn't know Lord Urien already took action." Then she gave Taranis a speculating look. "Speaking of rumors... So it's true that you are the son of a warlord."

The ranger's face became instantly blank, his gaze impassive. He looked around in search of his satchel until he located it sitting beside the door.

Endora followed him around the room. "And could that warlord be Aeron Ó Taidhg, which would make you Taranis Ó Taidhg then?"

Standing in front of the locked door, Taranis fished in the pocket of his leather breeches for the key Endora had given him earlier.

"And while we're at it, looking at your ears, the other rumor that your mother is an Elven princess could be true as well." She stepped even closer and then her expression became almost predatory. "Do you know the Elven king, Taranis?"

Ignoring Endora's questions, the ranger took his satchel, swung it over his shoulder, barely missing her head, and unlocked the door. With his fingers on the handle he half-turned to her. "Thank you for your time Endora and for the valuable information you provided. I trust you won't say a word of what you learned today to anyone and honor the secret of the mirror. Right?"

Fearghas had wedged himself between Taranis and Endora, his body vibrating with a low growl, a clear warning for Endora to back off.

She took a step back, her lips pressed into a thin line. With her hands on her hips, she glared at him. "You didn't need to remind me of that Taranis, I know the rules."

The ranger's expression softened. "I'm sorry, Endora. I'd like to trust you and even consider you a friend; it's just that this is important to me, and Cai's safety might depend on your discretion, so I had to make sure."

"I understand." She followed him out of the door. "What about Lir or Neela or maybe Yadrey? A little something to relax you before you go home?"

Taranis shook his head. "No thank you, another time maybe."

The wolf huffed.

"Good. I'd better show you a way which leads directly into the hall then. There is no need to disappoint Lir and provoke another fight between him and Neela." She turned to the right and opened a door at the other end of the hall, her hand extended for them to precede her.

"Thank you, I hope they don't take this personally. All three are very beautiful, especially Yadrey, and at another time I wouldn't know how to decide, but right now–" He shrugged.

"I understand, particularly in regards to what we just saw in the mirror. Maybe next time you're here and you can't decide you'll take two?" She winked. "Though I have the feeling my little redhead Yadrey would be more up your alley." She lifted her hand to pat Taranis' shoulder jovially, when a distinct growling stopped her mid-motion. "Sheesh, your wolf is a grumpy beast! One might almost think he's jealous."

"He's very protective of me, yes." To the wolf, "Come on Fear, time to go home."

While one of the guards went to get Taranis' weapons, the other scratched Fear's ears and petted his back. "Been a good boy, yes? Next time you come I'll have a treat for you."

Fear wagged his tail dutifully. 'That better be something good.'

The door closed behind them and Taranis halted for a short moment to adjust the weapons on his back. "This city is disgusting, let's get out of here by the shortest way possible, Fear." He hurried down the stone steps leading to Endora's Haven, Fear at his heel.

'I don't trust that woman; she only follows her own agenda.'

"Aren't we all? She can't talk about what she saw today; she would lose the mirror."

'But what about her conclusions? Can she talk about them? She isn't honest with us.'

"Everything that has been said and seen in that room has to stay there. She protects her interests, nothing wrong with that."

The streets were even more crowded than before and it took them almost an hour to reach Gaia Town's gate. Each lost in their own thoughts, they didn't speak until they were back on the road.

'We need to talk, don't you think?'

"Yes Fear, we do, but not here. Let's get home first and I will tell you anything you want to know."

'Anything?'

"Yes, anything."

'Good.'

***

Taranis sat cross-legged on the wooden platform surrounding their house set up in the crowns of two tall trees in the Duranic Forest. He watched Fearghas. The wolf seemed restless. He wandered around, stopped to sniff the air, listening to something only he could hear, then wandered some more.

Finally he dropped to his belly, paws out in front, but making sure to be just out of Taranis' reach. 'Is your mother an Elven princess?'

"Of all the questions you could ask me this is the first that comes into your mind?" Taranis shook his head. "I would have thought–"

'Answer the question. You said I could ask anything.'

Feeling the tension rolling off Fear's body, the ranger instinctively leaned away from him. "I will, and you can."

They locked eyes and for a moment Taranis stopped breathing at the disgust Fear was radiating; he had to force himself to hold the wolf's gaze. "Why is this so important to you?"

'It just is.'

Fear was being evasive, that much Taranis did know. But why? And why was he so furious? Tracing the vines of his tattoo with the middle finger of his right hand, something he always did when he needed to calm himself, he gathered his thoughts. "I-I never told this story - to anyone."

'I understand. You know you can trust me. Yes?'

"Can I?" Picking at the seam of his shirtsleeve, Taranis plucked up his courage. "Did you know the Elves and the Fae have laws that forbid them to have children together?"

'I know this, yes.'

Taranis’ head snapped up from fidgeting with his shirt. "Really? There are only a few who know about this."

'I know many things.'

"Then I'm sure you also know that these children were always of exceptional beauty and mind."

Taranis had to move. With Fear behaving reserved and purposefully holding himself out of his reach, he couldn't sit still any longer. Standing up, he went to the edge of the platform and, with his back to the wolf, looked out into the forest.

'They were never the problem,' Fear growled out.

"No, the second generation was." The ranger paced back and forth along the edge of the platform. "For an unknown reason their offspring couldn't handle their mixed magic as well as their parent. It was as if Elven magic and Fae magic would fight for dominance within them. Some were responsible for terrible things that had happened in the past."

'And this is why the laws had been made in the first place, to prevent future disasters.' The wolf looked at Taranis, daring him to disagree. For a short moment they locked eyes again.

Then Taranis turned away, his gaze once again on the endless green of the Duranic Forest. Taking in a deep calming breath, he straightened his shoulders. "Mother was the illegitimate daughter of the Elven king's second son and a woman, who was half-human half-Fae. From her early days, she knew she could never have children because, according to the Elders, they almost certainly would turn into raving, raging mad monsters."

'Obviously she changed her mind,' Fear deadpanned.

Taranis clenched his hands. "Yes, she fell in love. Which brings us back to another rumor. Is my father a warlord? Yes, he is. My parents met just after he had won the Fāta. They married only two months later. My father knew that they would never have children and although he didn't say anything to mother, she could feel how much he longed for an heir. After three years, she bore him twins. Two sons, one with Fae magic, and one with the magic of the Elves." He smiled at Fear. "She found a solution."

'Your mother broke the law, Taranis,' the wolf said icily. 'A law that was invented for a very good reason.'

"Yes, but she did it out of love for my father. For some, this wouldn't be a good enough reason, nor that she found a way to prevent her children from becoming mad," Taranis replied heatedly.

'You don't know that. It could still happen.'

Taranis narrowed his eyes at the wolf. "What are you trying to say?" he asked through clenched teeth. "That I might be a monster, who could wreak havoc and become a mindless murderer at anytime now?" He jabbed a finger in Fear's direction. "My mother had an exceptional mind; she knew exactly what she was doing."

Fear watched Taranis. 'You're right in that I can't sense the slightest bit of Fae magic in you. The only Fae trait you have is your silver hair, which, together with the ears, is a dead give-away that the law has been broken to those who know. However, your mother took a terrible risk and love for one man is simply not a good enough excuse when the lives of many are at stake.'

"That's what her father said to her, when we–." Taranis shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

'When you–?'

"Nothing. I think I answered your question."

'What happened, Taranis? Why are you here in the Duranic Forest, living as a ranger and not with your family in Ando? Why was your brother in that dungeon, beaten half to death and in chains, even before Urien invaded the land? It seems like he treats Cai better than his own father.'

Taranis closed his eyes; the pictures Fear had conjured up again made his stomach churn. He knew he should never have agreed to leave Cai behind. Then he scoffed at himself. As if he'd had a chance then. He sat down, leaned back against the sun-warmed wall of the house, and rubbed his face with his hands. What did Urien Maciomhair want? Why had he shackled Cai with an ankle chain made of an alloy that would block his brother's Fae magic?

'Talk to me.'

Taranis released a defeated breath. Why not tell it all. "When my grandfather realized that his time as warlord would soon be over, he decided to step down, rather than letting himself be killed by his eldest son. The coward didn't care that with this he condemned one of his sons to certain death, because now both of them had to fight in the Fāta. My father and my uncle loved each other dearly and first refused to engage in such a fight. My uncle even tried to challenge their father, but my grandfather invoked a special amendment to the rules and declined. When the day came and the brothers still didn't want to fight, my grandfather threatened to kill their beloved sister. They entered the arena, they fought, but they couldn't kill each other. Grandfather watched the spectacle for some time and then ordered one of his men to slit my aunt's throat right before their eyes. He threatened to kill their mother next, if they wouldn't fight in earnest. Some say my father won, because my uncle didn't fight as hard as he could."

'I always knew that the warlords were ruthless, but I'd never thought they would kill their own child outside the Fāta. To order his daughter's death in cold blood…'

"He didn't live long enough to enjoy his retirement; I believe he fell from his horse."

Finally, after some minutes of silence Fearghas asked, 'Why are you here and not with your family Taranis?'

"People said that after he had to watch his sister and brother die, the latter by his own hands, father was never the same man again. He could cope for a while with the help of mother's love, but over the years he became more and more reclusive. He disappeared for hours and later for days in his study where he talked to a painting of his siblings. His mood changes increased; he provoked neighbors, assaulted servants and soldiers for no reason. Then one day he almost killed my brother and I knew I couldn't put off the inevitable any longer. I had to challenge him." Taranis' voice sounded raw, even to his own ears. "I never wanted to be the next warlord."

He gasped in surprise, when Fear's head plunged down on his thigh, his nose pushing into his fidgeting hands. "The fight was bloody, I won, but by the skin of my teeth. When I had my hands around father's throat, ready to end it, history repeated itself in an uncanny way." Taranis' hand found the thick fur at Fear's neck and he buried his fingers into it. "Father's second in command and another of his men dragged mother and Cai into the fighting ring, a knife at mother's throat. Only this time they wanted the fight to stop. I had to release father. I had to promise I'd leave immediately."

'Why didn't your mother or brother use their magic to free themselves and help you?'

"Magic is void in the arena."

'That makes sense. I always wondered why I never heard of defeated combatants using their magic despite the fact that it was forbidden.'

"That's probably the reason the first warlords built the fighting rings like that."

'So you left and your brother and mother stayed behind?'

"I was so badly hurt that mother begged father to allow her to take care of me until I was better. Father turned her down, and she left him, for me. I imagine this was one of the hardest decisions she'd ever had to make, especially as Cai had to stay behind and father told her she couldn't come back if she left him. She brought me to the Elves, to her family, and nursed me back to health. When I was better, she made this tattoo." Taranis lifted his left arm. "In it she poured all her Elven magic. Two days later she died in my arms. She couldn't live without my father; he was the love of her life, despite what he had become."

'The irony, that not her children, but her husband, became a raging madman who eventually killed her.'

"That is one way to look at it."

'Thank you for trusting me with your story, Taranis.'

"Maybe some day you might trust me enough to tell me yours."

'Some day I might.' Fearghas walked over to the edge of the platform. 'What are we going to do about your brother?'

"We'll visit my grandfather."

'Your mother's father?'

"Yes. I want to ask him what he knows about Urien. Then we'll pick Dandelions."

'Dandelions?'

"For Endora. I want to look into her mirror again before we pay Lord Urien Maciomhair a visit."

'Supper first. I remember there was some talk about rabbits this morning.' Fear jumped down into the forest and disappeared between the trees.

"Good hunting!"

***

Urien sat down on the edge of the bed, careful so as not to disturb the Fae twin. He watched his twitching hands, heard him murmuring one name over and over: 'Tar'. Tracing the fading whipping marks on his back, Urien whispered into Cai's ear, "Soon. He will be here soon."

Before he left the room, he made sure the delicate golden chain was still firmly attached to the ankle ring and the wall before he left the room. Now that he finally had him, he was not going to risk losing him again.