Aglanthol 1 - The Legend of Khaalindaan - 20. Chapter 20

Qildor had spent three days and two nights in a stifling and dark room. They had brought him food and water, but nobody had spoken to him. Qildor had felt like an idiot, apparently unworthy to unveil the secret. He had grumbled over it for some time. Then he had studied Gwyn’s map again in order to distract himself. The last day, however, he had spent lying on his bed, feeling totally bored. Qildor almost jumped from the bed when the door opened and Leandor asked him to follow him. They all met in the main hall and then Leandor led them out of the castle.

"We all walk a path and we cannot go astray for fate has summoned us," Leandor said wisely as a farewell.

"Just that some paths lead you from one point to the other whereas others lead you in circles or so," Neldor replied.

Leandor smiled and then bid them farewell. Neldor stepped out of the door and Qildor followed him quickly. Leandor closed the door behind them. Qildor spotted their horses and hurried to them. Qildor wanted to leave. He had enough of the castle. He looked back at the wizard impatiently. Neldor joined him finally. He smiled at him.

"As soon as we have found a safe place to rest, I will tell you all. My questions are answered. I can finish my path in peace and without regret," Neldor said.

Qildor’s first impulse was to return a rude response. However, he swallowed his words. He just gave Neldor a brief nod, and then they walked silently for many hours, leading their horses down the rocky path. They stopped when dusk was near and settled in a cave for the night. Qildor lit an oil lamp that he had taken along. And then Neldor started his recount.

"Leandor, our guide, showed me to a door and asked me to open it. I took out the old key and tried. The door opened instantly. The air in the room was stifling. I could hardly breathe. The walls of the room are filled with shelves and the shelves are filled with books, old books bound in black leather. They have not rotten because of the dry air in the room."

Neldor paused for a moment. Qildor watched him attentively.

"I spent the days in the chamber. I picked a few books randomly first. They are written in the ancient language of Aglanthol that was used at the time of the wizard Norlorn. The books are arranged chronologically. They go far back in time. The latest book was written after Norlorn had defeated Khaalindaan. One book described the battle in detail," Neldor carried on.

"Was it all true? Do you have evidence now?" Qildor interrupted the wizard.

"We meanwhile know it is true, don’t we?" Neldor said. "Don’t you remember the incident in the forest?"

"Well, yes, of course, I do," Qildor said, looking at the wizard.

Neldor studied Qildor’s face.

"So you remember the incident? Good," he said in a pleased voice.

Qildor gave him a questioning look but Neldor ignored him. The wizard carried on instead.

"The battle is recounted in detail. To sum it up, the legend speaks the truth. The wizard Khaalindaan offered final resistance. He was a powerful wizard and magician. But the Aglanthol wizard Norlorn ultimately won the fight," he said.

Neldor cleared his throat.

"I went back in time. Unfortunately, I could not read all the books for lack of time. They cover events that took place long before the kingdom of Aglanthol was founded. But I learned that the wizards and the holy men played an important role always. The knowledge of the early wizards surpassed mine, I have to admit. So much is forgotten. I feel deep regret."

He let out a sigh.

"From what I read I know that the ancient wizards were able to effortlessly control the elements and it was not uncommon for them to change the course of time."

"What?" Qildor asked. He shifted his position impatiently. His curiosity almost killed him.

Neldor coughed.

"Khaalindaan’s spirit was banned by Norlorn. However, Norlorn was not able to extinguish Khaalindaan’s spirit. The ban was only temporal. A thousand years later the spirit could be released if anybody retrieved the sword from the ground. Norlorn knew that this would inevitably happen in the future, some way or other. He knew he had only delayed the final battle. But Norlorn was not immortal He would long be dead when Khaalindaan’s spirit would once more be released. And he had no apprentice. Norlorn was definitely the last of his kind. He knew and Khaalindaan knew as well."

"So Norlorn actually made a mistake?" Qildor asked. "His ban of a thousand years actually made sure that Khaalindaan’s spirit was to be released in the future when no opponent equivalent in power would then be able to defeat Khaalindaan?"

"This did not happen. I defeated Khaalindaan’s spirit," Neldor said calmly. "Don’t you remember?"

"Luckily," Qildor exclaimed. "You accidentally came along when you were needed most."

Neldor gave an indignant cough.

"I would rather say that fate sent me in the right place at the right time. I did not accidentally go for a walk on a snow-covered hill in the north of Aglanthol," he said grumpily.

They measured each other for a while. Qildor shrugged.

"All right, fate sent you there in time," he said in a resigned voice. "But what about Norlorn? What did he do?"

"He corrected his mistake," Neldor said calmly.

"Why...," Qildor started. "I can’t see how? What did he do?"

"He turned back time," Neldor said in a sober voice.

"What?" Qildor exclaimed. He gazed at the wizard in confusion.

"Yes," Neldor replied drily.

"Explain," Qildor said.

"Listen then," Neldor started. "The Castle of Saelethiel has been a secret place for thousands of years. It was the secret training centre of the wizards. Only the most gifted and talented apprentices were sent there, men like Khaalindaan and Norlorn and their powerful predecessors. We know that Khaalindaan had disappeared from his clan. He was in the Castle of Saelethiel. When he came back to his clan, he was the powerful wizard that we know from the legend. He was actually more powerful than Norlorn was. Norlorn was not able to extinguish Khaalindaan. He was only able to ban his spirit for a thousand of years. However, in order to prevent Aglanthol’s future doom, Norlorn made sure that Khaalindaan’s training was flawed. It was not flawed when he met him the first time. But Norlorn changed this. He turned back time and removed all the books from the library of the Castle of Saelethiel that would help Khaalindaan to develop his overall power. Norlorn locked the books in the small chamber that I visited the previous three days. The key to the chamber was passed from the master of the library to his follower. Only few wizards over the centuries had permission to visit the room. Norlorn made sure that the name Khaalindaan was passed on from generation to generation. So when the apprentice Khaalindaan came to the Castle of Saelethiel, he had long been awaited and he was not allowed to visit the chamber. Thus Khaalindaan’s training was flawed. It lacked some magical skills on mind and energy focusing techniques. Norlorn used this for his advantage when he fought against Khaalindaan for the second time."

"What? When?" Qildor asked in total confusion. This all sounded weird. He struggled to keep up with Neldor’s explanations.

"Yes," Neldor said calmly. "Norlorn turned back time and arranged all this for his advantage. Khaalindaan was not able to interfere because his spirit was banned by Norlorn’s sword. Norlorn then turned time forward again to the point where he and Khaalindaan met for the final battle. He let Khaalindaan make the first move. Khaalindaan channelled his life force into one single spot of energy, charged it with his destructive emotions and gave it a target: Aglanthol’s doom and ruin. Khaalindaan then let the energy burst free and aim for its target. This act required total focusing of the mind on one single spot in time and on one single target. When Norlorn and Khaalindaan had met for the first time, Khaalindaan had been a master of this exercise. And so he seemed to be when they met the second time. Norlorn did only react to Khaalindaan’s move. However, he managed to distract Khaalindaan’s spirit for the split of a second when he called out Khaalindaan’s name. That sufficed to ban Khaalindaan’s spirit with the sword. Norlorn was a master of the sword. When they met again for the second time, all seemed to happen exactly like it had happened the first time. However, it had not. Norlorn took care for the future. He knew Khaalindaan’s spirit would be released some day. But he made sure that a minor wizard like I am one would be able to defeat Khaalindaan."

"How...?" Qildor started. He was still struggling to grasp the wizard’s thoughts.

"You witnessed it yourself," Neldor said. "The peasant Dran retrieved Norlorn’s sword from the ground and thus released Khaalindaan’s spirit. The energy ball shot here and there, away from Dran and back to him. It missed you and Magath. Gwyn, an old and average woman, however strong-willed and determined, was able to distract the spirit. And then I absorbed the energy with the help of a symbol that I focused on. Khaalindaan was not able to disturb my focusing of the mind."

Qildor gazed into the darkness. Neldor’s words sank in only slowly. He gazed at the wizard.

"Norlorn arranged all this? His magic was in fact powerful," he said slowly.

"He changed the course of time and the course of history. A powerful and dangerous skill," Neldor said pensively. "And he killed two birds with one stone."

"Why? What else did he do?" Qildor asked.

"Think of the legend of the ancient town," Neldor said. "Foreigners came to our land, and then all of them died of the plague. And no more foreigners ever came here again. We were wondering about that. Do you remember?"

Qildor nodded pensively. "So what did Norlorn do?" he asked.

"Norlorn put up a mighty ward that has been guarding the coast since this time. This is why the foreigners have not returned. They are unable to pass the ward. Perhaps they turn and sail back to their homeland or perhaps their ships sink in the ocean once they come close to our continent. This I do not know," Neldor said.

Silence fell. Qildor looked into the distance. This all was hard to grasp. Neldor watched him patiently.

"What about the symbols on the map?" Qildor asked finally.

"It’s an artificial language," Neldor said. "Norlorn invented it. I found the code and I transcribed the text on the map. It’s an instruction. Norlorn explains the time travel technique. I am not sure if he himself wrote the text on the map or if maybe it was copied by someone else, someone who had access to Norlorn’s original script."

Neldor yawned. "I must sleep now. I am tired," he said.

"How can you sleep? Qildor asked. "Deciphering the symbols was what you tried for decades. It was your life’s quest. You succeeded. You don’t really sound enthusiastic about it."

Neldor snickered.

"My life’s quest, yes. I must say I am very pleased with the result. I did not accidentally come along when I was needed most. I usually don’t go for a walk on a snow-covered hill in the north of Aglanthol," he said.

Qildor gazed at the wizard. His eyes widened as the truth dawned on him.

"You mean...?" he started.

"Yes," Neldor said with a faint smile. "I applied Norlorn’s magic. I turned back time to the point when you left the royal court. Once you know how to do it, it’s not that difficult. I was sitting in the secret chamber and finished my meal. And then I turned back time. I followed you north. I arrived just in time and went up the snow-covered hill. I knew where to find you, Magath, Gwyn, and Khaalindaan’s spirit. The first time, I had not arrived in time. But I did not fail the second time. I then stayed with Gwyn for a while. That’s why I am very exhausted. I turned time forward again and I found myself in the secret chamber. Only one minute or so had passed. The soup was still hot. But actually I had been away for a fortnight or so. I really need to rest now."

Qildor did not respond. This was definitely above him. He gazed into the darkness until a thought occurred to him.

"Why don’t I remember that you failed the first time?" he asked. "I must have known until noon today. And then, when you turned back time, it all escaped my mind?"

"It’s an effect of the time change," Neldor explained.

Qildor gazed at the wizard.

"So what happened the first time? What has escaped my mind?" he asked in a toneless voice.

Qildor was afraid of Neldor’s next words. The wizard gave him a serious look.

"Like I said, I had not arrived on the hill in time. Dran retrieved Norlorn’s sword and set Khaalindaan’s spirit free. Due to Norlorn’s manipulations, Khaalindaan’s spirit had difficulties to focus. The energy ball shot here and there. It returned to Dran several times in order to recharge. It was too much for the man. He died of a heart attack. The energy then aimed at completing its mission that was the destruction of Aglanthol. It chased you and Magath, two Aglanthol men. Gwyn interfered and drew Khaalindaan’s energy towards her. She absorbed the energy with the help of Norlorn’s sword. Her own life force seized Khaalindaans’s energy and then went out like a candle in the wind. She extinguished the evil spirit by killing herself. She was a true heroine."

Neldor fell silent. Qildor felt a lump in his throat.

"Carry on," he said in a stifled voice.

"You came back to the royal court as a broken and disillusioned man and you were burdened with guilt. You felt you had destroyed Magath’s life. The man had lost a neighbour he had liked and he had lost a woman he had loved. The man was kind-hearted, but he had lived in his own little world. His world was destroyed. Magath left Tanmil and no one knew where he went to. When I met you at the farmhouse the day before we set off for the Castle of Saelethiel, you told me that you were roaming the land," Neldor said, fixing his gaze on Qildor.

"I was looking for the ancient town," Qildor said slowly.

"No, in all honesty, you were also looking for Magath. But so far, you had not found him," Neldor said.

Qildor closed his eyes. He swallowed.

"I have not thought of him in a while," he said in a guilty voice.

"I changed the course of time," Neldor said. "When I saw him in Tanmil, he was in good health. And so were Gwyn and Dran."

"I must travel to Tanmil," Qildor said in a pressed voice.

"You certainly must," Neldor replied seriously.

They exchanged a long look, and then Neldor stretched on his blanket. He soon fell asleep. Qildor kept gazing into the darkness. This all was beyond his grasp. Qildor thought of the day when he had come to Tanmil. What a naive man he had been. The image of Magath came to his mind. Qildor wondered what had happened to him, now that Neldor had changed the course of time.

They travelled on the following day. A few days later, they parted. While Neldor rode back to the royal court, Qildor travelled north. He did not take the direct route to Tanmil, however. Was it wise to return to the village and disturb Magath’s life again? Qildor rode north and entered Khalindash territory. He told himself that he was just investigating on the Khalindash, now that Neldor had changed the course of events. In reality, however, he delayed his return to Tanmil. He was not yet ready to face the man he had come to love and had lost in the past.

Qildor roamed the land for some weeks. Autumn turned into winter and the cold days reminded Qildor of the day when they had fought against the evil spirit of Khaalindaan. He thought of Magath. What had become of the man? And then, one day, he could not ignore his gut feeling any longer. Qildor travelled back to Tanmil.

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