Wayne Batson - The Final Storm

“Yes, Robby, I know about you. Antoinette told me some, but Kaliam knew much more than she. But even if they had not told me, I still would have known that you once served the enemy.”

Robby blinked back tears.

“In spite of your size and apparent strength,” Lady Merewen explained, “there is a fragility about you. At moments you look ashamed, as if you really do not belong here in Alleble. Like you might suddenly be discovered for what you are and be dragged from this city and taken to a much darker place.” Tears streamed freely down Robby’s cheeks.

“Nay, Robby, I see all too clearly the shrouds that Paragor continues to cast over you in the hopes of reclaiming your allegiance. I see it, because I too wore such shrouds. But let your tears become tears of joy as mine did! I cast off the enemy’s feeble webs, and I am confident that here you will find such hope too!”

Robby swallowed and nodded, his square jaw still trembling.

“We shall talk again, you and I,” Lady Merewen said. “But for now, sleep. Sleep in such comfort and peace as you have never had before. For, Robby, you are home now.”

I t appeared to be a glorious spring day in Alleble. The sun was climbing, and a gentle breeze stirred the great banners hung outside the main gatehouse of the castle. Still, Kaliam felt uneasy that the dragon riders had not returned from their mission in the Blue Mountains, especially now that Robby was in Alleble.

Kindle, the armory keeper, had procured fitting armor for Robby, and Kaliam helped Robby put it on. “So Aidan really defeated an army all by himself?” Robby asked as Kaliam slid the breastplate harness over Robby’s head. Kaliam nodded.

“Not exactly by himself,” Kindle said with a wink. “Or are you forgetting how Sir Aidan managed to navigate Lady Gwenne and the others through the stampede without getting stomped?”

Kaliam frowned with mock anger. “Yes, well, of course King Eliam was with Aidan in that battle.”

“I should say!” Kindle exclaimed with a laugh that made his ample belly shake. He turned back to Robby. “So, why do you ask, lad?”

“I dunno,” Robby replied, running his fingers over his new gleaming silver armor. “I guess it’s just that things are so different now. Back in my world, when Aidan and I first met, well… Aidan wasn’t good at much.”

“Ah! I see now,” said Kindle. “You used to be top knight, eh? And you are worried that Sir Aidan has passed you by? Is that it?”

Robby shrugged. Kindle went on to say more, but Kaliam held up his hand. “To serve in The Realm of Alleble,” Kaliam said, “you must put aside all such jealousies.”

Each busy with his own thoughts, Kaliam and Robby left the armory en route to the training yards behind the main keep. Kaliam wondered why he had such a nagging uneasy feeling about Robby; Robby wondered if Kaliam held something against him.

The few citizens of Alleble who were out on the avenues nodded respectfully to their Sentinel and his companion. But some of them did more than nod. Three elderly Glimpse women walked by, staring and whispering. Robby heard one of them say, “Is he one of them?” But then the other two ladies shushed her and whisked her away.

“What was that all about?” Robby asked.

“Oh, well… they do not often see beings from the Mirror Realm,” Kaliam replied. “Especially one so handsome and knightly as yourself.” Robby laughed, but he wondered if that was all there was to it.

After many winding passages and several flights of stairs, they turned a corner and Robby gasped. “I have never seen anything like that before!” he said, staring up at the great white stone faces of mountains.

“Pennath Ador!” Kaliam exclaimed. “The Mountains of Glory! It is said that when the first rays of the dawn sun shine between those snowy peaks that great glory will be won by those who are pure of heart!”

“Righ-ight,” was Robby’s only response. The mountains were dizzying in their immense grandeur, and somewhere in the back of Robby’s heart he wondered what it might be like to find some winding path and attempt to scale them.

“Here we are!” Kaliam announced. Robby beheld a network of wooden fences, several archery ranges, and a large field and pavilion that reminded him of a racetrack.

“These are the private training yards of the Elder Guard, the most highly skilled warriors in all of Alleble. Most of them,” Kaliam said, glancing northward, “are on a very important mission in the Blue Mountain Provinces. So we ought to have the yard pretty much to ourselves.”

“Will you tell me what my mission is now?” Robby asked.

“In time,” Kaliam said as they entered a fenced-in ring. “I would test you first on the training urchin, but alas, it is under repair. So we will just have to give it a go the old-fashioned way. King Eliam told me that you have considerable skill with a blade. Is this so?”

“I guess I’m pretty good,” Robby replied. “But I don’t really know how I compare to the other Knights of Alleble. I was trained-”

“By your father,” Kaliam finished the sentence. “He is the human twin of Lord Rucifel, Paragor’s right hand. Yes, I know. Rucifel’s swordcraft is lethal, but we shall see.”

Robby twisted and leaned to test the limits of his armor. “My father said I was a little better than a beginner, but Count Eogan said that I am a gifted swordsman. I think he was just tryin’ to flatter me.”

“Did you say Eogan?” Kaliam asked.

Robby nodded. “Did you know him?” Robby asked, looking afraid. “He said he was a former ambassador from Alleble.”

“I did not know him,” Kaliam said. “We have had dealings with Count Eogan, and he certainly was no ambassador of ours. Masquerading as one of us, Eogan stirred up quite a bit of trouble with our allies. If only I could get my hands on that scoundrel.”

Robby looked downward. “You won’t see him again.”

“How can you be so sure?” Kaliam asked.

“I… I killed him.”

“Why?” Kaliam asked.

“He tried to stop Aidan from entering The Realm. I had no choice. He would have killed Aidan.”

“Oh,” Kaliam replied. “Well, I am glad Eogan’s treachery has come to an end, but I am sorry for the ordeal you have been through. Just remember, we are at war with Paragor and his allies. What you did was just.”

“I know,” Robby said, and he turned back to his Sentinel. “But I don’t like to kill.”

“Neither do I, Robby, neither do I,” said Kaliam.

“Sir Kaliam, don’t you get used to killing?” Robby asked.

“No. No true servant of Alleble does. We fight to defend our land and our allies. We slay when we have no other choice,” Kaliam said.

Robby stared at the mountains. Kaliam’s uneasy feeling around Robby had strengthened. Can I really trust a former servant of the enemy? The thought just imposed itself in Kaliam’s mind. But he immediately shook it away. After all, he mused, I did propose marriage to a former servant of the enemy! And Robby had shown no signs of duplicity or hidden evil-just the opposite, actually. Still, I will feel much better when Robby has made the good confession.

At last, Kaliam dragged a barrel out of the center of the ring. “These are not the finest swords in the land,” he said to Robby with a wink. “But they are far better than the first weapon Aidan ever used. Now, choose a blade.”

Robby went to the barrel and sorted through the weapons. He took out several-all broadswords-but one at a time he put them back. Growing frustrated, he finally settled on one. He carved a swift two-fisted C-shape in the air and frowned. “Don’t you have anything heavier?”