Roger Taylor - The waking of Orthlund

Isloman nodded, in the absence of anything more significant to do. Each word that Hawklan spoke, and each movement he made, seemed to push the recent dark and fretful weeks further and further from Isloman’s mind. As he looked into Hawklan’s green eyes, however, he thought he saw a glimmer of great sadness, but it was gone so quickly that he could not be sure it was not some trick of the torchlight.

Then Hawklan’s smile cut through all his uncertain-ties. ‘Still,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I’m here now, without a doubt, and very glad to be so. We’ll talk more later. Right now, we’ve other matters to attend to.’

Gently, he took his sword from Isloman’s hand and fastened it deftly to his belt. Looking down at his hands he flexed his fingers, then his wrists and arms. ‘How strange,’ he said. ‘After all that stillness. No stiffness. No stiffness anywhere.’

‘Did the… noise wake you?’ Isloman said, still searching for some point of stability.

Hawklan turned to look down the tunnels facing them.

‘No,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘It was a silence, not a noise. Something… someone reached out, and… ’ He hesitated. ‘… brought me together again, here, now.’

‘Silence?’ said Isloman disbelievingly, remembering vividly the crushing sounds that had borne him to the ground and sent him into oblivion. ‘Someone? I don’t understand. Who?’

Dacu joined the conversation before Hawklan could answer. ‘It was very strange, Isloman,’ he said, an unfamiliar tension in his voice. ‘Tirke and I were struggling with the horses, when we saw both you and Gavor go down. We tried to get to you, but that appalling noise just got louder and louder… ’ He grimaced at the memory. ‘It seemed to be almost solid. I thought we were all going to die, then… ’

‘Then?’ prompted Isloman impatiently.

‘Then it was gone,’ Dacu said. ‘In an instant.’

‘They stopped?’ Isloman said.

Dacu shook his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Something stopped them. Swept their noise aside.’ He paused as if scarcely believing what he was remembering. ‘A great silence… no, more a silence and a stillness, seemed to well up suddenly from… ’ He gestured vaguely around the cave, and his voice fell. ‘… from everywhere. It just rolled over that dreadful din, as if its sheer… intensity, power… rendered such a noise irrelevant.’

Abruptly, the tension faded from both his face and his voice and he began to smile. ‘It was beautiful,’ he said. ‘I’ve sat in quiet stillness many times and found great solace, but this was far beyond anything I’ve ever known. And I didn’t have to struggle for it. It was given to me, Isloman. Just given. Unbelievable. A gift. A gift to guide me forever. Whoever sent it to us has knowledge and understanding far beyond ours.’

He paused, obviously profoundly moved by the memory of the event. His manner was such that the peace of the stillness he had woken to returned vividly to Isloman. Who indeed could have created such a thing?

With an effort he brought himself back to the pre-sent. ‘And Hawklan?’ he asked.

But Dacu too seemed to be having some difficulty in abandoning his preoccupation. He looked at Isloman. ‘Hawklan?’ he echoed, then, nodding, ‘As the silence faded, he just opened his eyes and stood up. Stood up as if he’d only just sat down. Walked straight across to you and Gavor.’

‘And you didn’t make this… silence?’ Isloman asked Hawklan, knowing the answer.

‘No,’ Hawklan replied, shaking his head. ‘I don’t know what it was, or where it came from. I felt it and… heard it, in a way. And when it was gone, I was back with you. Whole again. As Dacu said, as if I’d never been away.’

He frowned slightly. ‘It had something vaguely fa-miliar about it, but…?’ He shrugged.

‘Who cares? Who cares?’ Gavor boisterously inter-rupted the collective reverie of the group. ‘You’re back safe and well, and we can leave. Get back to Anderras Darion.’ He flapped past Dacu’s head, startling the Goraidin, and landed on Hawklan’s shoulder, where he jumped up and down excitedly.

Hawklan reached up and touched the side of his beak with his forefinger. ‘Not yet, I think,’ he said. ‘Not yet. We have allies to win here. We have to talk to the Alphraan.’

Isloman touched his arm nervously. ‘Allies?’ he said disbelievingly. ‘I don’t think so. I agree with Gavor. I think we should leave while we can. They nearly killed us just now, and even before that they didn’t seem too inclined towards tolerance.’

‘So I heard,’ Hawklan said. ‘But they’re also in some doubt, if I’m not mistaken. We have to try and talk to them.’

‘Why?’ said Isloman, almost rebelliously, the mem-ory of his recent helplessness returning to him. ‘If you heard, you know what happened. There was nothing any of us could do when they attacked us. We didn’t even see them.’

Dacu joined in. ‘Hawklan, you above all know how important it is that we get to Anderras Darion and tell your people what’s happening in Fyorlund,’ he said. ‘Isloman’s right. We’re defenceless against these… creatures… whatever they are, and there’s no reason to suppose they won’t come back and attack us again. We must leave.’

Hawklan nodded. ‘True,’ he said, looking at him. ‘But would you leave such an enemy on what might come to be your supply lines?’

Dacu turned away and looked towards the cave entrance, now brightening with the morning light. Then he turned back and met Hawklan’s gaze squarely. ‘My duty amp;mdashour duty,’ he indicated Tirke, ‘is to bring accurate information from our Lords to your people, Hawklan, so that those who have to make decisions about supply lines and such matters can do so with some confidence. I’ve also to ensure that you and Isloman arrive safely. Neither of these will be achieved if we wilfully seek out someone who’s already shown themselves unwilling to listen and quite willing to kill us.’

Hawklan smiled slightly. ‘I accept your rebuke, Goraidin,’ he said. ‘You’re right. But if these people are uncertain… ill-informed… then they’re vulnerable also. Vulnerable to manipulation. Words from His agents to pander to their ignorance could turn them utterly against us, and who knows how far their domain extends under these mountains? Perhaps they’ve been watching us for days. Perhaps they could attack us at any point between here and Anderras Darion. I must try and speak with them while we’re here and while they’re prepared to come so near.’

Then, before Dacu could protest, he continued forcefully. ‘You and Tirke take the horses outside and get them loaded and ready to start.’ He looked at Isloman enquiringly. Resignedly, the carver nodded his great head. ‘Isloman and I will stay here for a little while and see if any of the Alphraan return. Whatever’s happened, after that strange silence they’ll be in a different frame of mind, I’m sure. With luck, they’ll be considerably less belligerent.’

Dacu was unrepentant. ‘I’d rather rely on solid in-formation than luck, Hawklan,’ he said. ‘I think the risk is too great.’

‘So do I, so do I,’ Gavor echoed agitatedly.

‘A few minutes,’ Hawklan offered softly, but reso-lutely. Dacu looked from Hawklan to Isloman, and then nodded to Tirke to start preparing the horses.

‘A few minutes only, then,’ Dacu accepted, unhap-pily. ‘And take great care. We may not be able to come in and get you out if there’s trouble. And if we’re attacked outside we’ll have to abandon you.’

‘Yes,’ Hawklan said. ‘I realize that. You must do whatever’s necessary to get to Loman and Gulda at Anderras Darion no matter what happens.’

The two men stared at one another for a moment, then Dacu bowed slightly in acknowledgement and turned to help Tirke who was busying himself saddling the horses. Hawklan and Isloman joined them, and for a few minutes the cave was full of the reassuring sounds of preparation for travel.