The guards were mounted on heavy war-horses, but the beasts that knelt awaiting us resembled a kind of camel from which all the camel's lumpen ugliness had been bred. These beasts were beautiful. On their high backs were cabins of ebony, ivory and mother-of-pearl, curtained in scintillating silks.
We walked down the hill, and as we walked I noticed that I still had the ring on my finger that I had worn as John Daker. A ring of woven silver that my wife had given me… My wife… I could not recall her face. I felt I should have left the ring behind me-on that other body. But perhaps there is no body left behind.
We reached the kneeling beasts and the guards stiffened their backs to acknowledge our arrival. I saw curiosity in many of the eyes that looked at me.
King Rigenos gestured towards one of the beasts. 'Would you care to take your cabin, Champion?' Though he himself had summoned me, he seemed to be slightly wary of me.
'Thank you.' I climbed the little ladder of plaited silk and entered the cabin. It was completely lined with deep cushions of a variety of hues.
The camels climbed to their feet and we began to move swiftly through a narrow valley whose sides were lined with evergreen trees which I could not name-something like spreading monkey-puzzle trees, but with more branches and broader leaves.
I had lain my sword across my knees. I inspected it. It was a plain, soldier's sword, having no markings on the blade. The hilt fitted perfectly into my right hand as I gripped it. It was a good sword. But why it was poisonous to other humans I did not know. Presumably it was also lethal to those whom King Rigenos called the Hounds of Evil-the Eldren.
On we travelled through the soft day and I drowsed on my cushions, feeling strangely weary, until I heard a cry and pushed back the curtains of my cabin to look ahead.
There was Necranal. The city which I had seen in my dreams.
Far away, still, it towered upwards so that the entire mountain upon which it was built was hidden by its wondrous architecture. Minarets, steeples, domes and battlements shone in the sun and, above them all, loomed the huge palace of the warrior kings, a noble structure, many-towered, the Palace of Ten Thousand Windows. I remembered the name.
I saw King Rigenos peer from his cabin and cry: 'Katorn! Ride ahead and tell the people that Erekose the Champion has come to drive the Evil Ones back to the Mountains of Sorrow!'
The man he addressed was a sullen-faced individual. Doubtless the Captain of the Imperial Guard. 'Aye, sire,' he growled.
He drew his horse out of line and galloped speedily along the road of white dust which wound, now, down an incline. I could see the road stretching for many miles into the distance towards Necranal. I watched the rider for a while but wearied of this eventually and instead strained my eyes to make out details in that great city structure.
The cities of London, New York or Tokyo were probably bigger in area, but not much. Necranal was spread around the base of the mountain for many miles. Surrounding the city was a high wall upon which turrets were mounted at intervals.
So, at last, we came to the great Main Gate of Necranal and our caravan halted.
A musical instrument sounded and the gates began to swing open. We passed through into streets packed with jostling, cheering people who shouted so loudly I was forced, at times, to cover my ears for fear they would rupture.
CHAPTER THREE
THE ELDREN THREAT
Now the cheering gradually fell away as the little caravan ascended the winding road to the Palace of Ten Thousand Windows. A silence settled and I heard only the creak of the howdah in which I sat, the occasional jingle of harness or the clatter of a horse's hoof. I began to feel discomforted. There was something about the mood of the city that was not altogether sane and which could not be explained away in conventional terms. Certainly the people were afraid of enemy attack; certainly they were weary with fighting. But it seemed to me that this mood held something morbid-a mixture of hysterical elation and melancholic depression that I had sensed only once before in my previous life, during my single visit to a mental hospital…
Or perhaps I was merely imposing my own mood on my surroundings. After all, it could be argued that I was in a classic paranoid-schizophrenic situation! A man with two or more well-defined identities who also happened to be considered in this world the potential saviour of mankind! For a moment I wondered if in fact I had not gone completely insane-if this were not some monstrous delusion-if I were not actually at this moment in the very madhouse I had once visited!
I touched the draperies, my scabbarded sword; I peered out at the vast city now stretched out below me; I stared at the huge bulk of the Palace of Ten Thousand Windows above me. I attempted to see beyond them, deliberately assuming that they were an illusion, expecting to see the walls of a hospital room, or even the familiar walls of my own apartment. But the Palace of Ten Thousand Windows remained as solid as ever. The City of Necranal had none of the qualities of a mirage. I sank back in my cushions. I had to assume that this was real, that I had been transported somehow across the ages and through space to this Earth of which there were no records in any history book I had ever read (and I had read many) and of which there were only echoes in myths and legends.
I was no longer John Daker. I was Erekose-the Eternal Champion. A legend myself-come to life.
I laughed then. If I were mad-then it was a glorious madness. A madness of which I would never have considered myself capable of inventing!
At length our caravan arrived at the summit of the mountain and the jewelled gates of the palace opened for us and we passed inside a splendid courtyard in which trees grew and fountains played, feeding little rivers spanned by ornamental bridges. Fish swam in the rivers and birds sang in the trees as pages came forward to make our beasts kneel down, and we stepped out into the evening light.
King Rigenos smiled with pride as he gestured around the great courtyard. 'You like this, Erekose? I had it built myself, shortly after I came to the throne. The courtyard was a gloomy sort of place until then-it did not fit with the rest of the palace.'
'It is very beautiful,' I said. I turned to look at lolinda who had joined us. 'And not the only beautiful thing you have helped create-for here is the most beautiful adornment to your palace!'
King Rigenos chuckled. 'You are a courtier as well as a warrior, I see.' He took my arm and lolinda's and guided us across the courtyard. 'Of course, I have little time these days to consider the creation of beauty. It is weapons we must create now. Instead of plans for gardens, I must concern myself with battle plans.' He sighed. 'Perhaps you will drive the Eldren away for ever, Erekose. Perhaps when they are destroyed, we shall be able to enjoy the peaceful things of life again…'
I felt sorry for him at that moment. He only wanted what every man wanted-freedom from fear, a chance to raise children with a reasonable certainty that they would be allowed to do the same, a chance to look forward to the future without the knowledge that any plans made might be wrecked for ever by some sudden act of violence. His world, after all, was not so different from the one I had so recently left.
I put my hand on the king's shoulder, 'Let us hope so, King Rigenos,' I said. 'I will do what I can.'
He cleared his throat. 'And that will be a great deal, Champion. I know it will be a great deal. We shall soon rid ourselves of the Eldren menace!'
We entered a cool hall whose walls were lined with beaten silver over which tapestries were draped. It was a pleasant hall, though very large. Off the hall led a wide staircase and down the staircase now descended a whole army of slaves, servants and retainers of all kinds. They drew themselves up in ranks at the bottom and knelt to greet the king.