Andawyr’s face became pained and anxious. His voice fell even lower. ‘And the third time I saw him amp;mdashthough this time, in some way he reached out to me for my aid amp;mdashSumeral’s hold left me. Abruptly. No gradual lessening. It just disappeared. His attention was elsewhere, and massively so. And then Hawklan was there in front of me.’ He began to speak slowly, his eyes narrowed, as if he were watching the scene again. ‘There were others there, I think, but in truth he was alone. And facing Oklar amp;mdashOklar in all his power, but hurt somehow, I felt, and about to release some terrible blow in his rage.’ Eyes now suddenly wide, Andawyr put his hands to his mouth in terror. ‘He was defenceless. I shouted to him to use his sword, but… ’
He fell silent.
‘What happened?’ Oslang ventured after a moment.
Slowly, his eyes still wide, Andawyr shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Just as suddenly I was alone again in the empty darkness, surrounded by the dying echoes of my own shouting. Quite alone, I don’t know how long I stood there before I fully realized where I was, and what had happened, but when I did, I forgot Hawklan and everything else, and just ran. Ran and ran.’ His hand came up to cover his face. ‘Your precious leader ran like a frightened child. Who knows what cave lore guided me out of the depths and brought me towards the Pass? When I came to my senses, I could think of only two things. At no matter what cost, I must return and tell you everything and I must not use the Old Power for whatever reason amp;mdashexpect perhaps my own death. Just those two things.’
He lowered his hand and looked again at his friends. ‘That was another learning, my friends. Travelling fearfully in the darkness inside the mountains, guided only by my cave lore. Travelling fearfully from shadow to shadow when I had to travel on the surface. And then the Pass, and one foot in front of the other, on and on, with who knew what at my back, for day after day. Outside, the endless… voices, the discourse. Inside, the darkness again. To be honest I can remember very little of the journey.’
‘You were distraught and very weak when we found you,’ Oslang said reassuringly. ‘But all’s well now.’
Andawyr nodded. ‘Yes and no,’ he said. ‘I’m alive and I’m aware now of the danger, but I’m aware too of our weakness, and I’ve no idea of the fate of Hawklan.’
Abruptly his trials seemed to overwhelm him and his voice became almost desperate. ‘At its finest the Cadwanol couldn’t stand against Sumeral unaided, and if Oklar struck down Ethriss while he slept in that form then he’d have doomed him to millennia of darkness.’
‘If the man Hawklan is indeed Ethriss, then such a blow might well have wakened him.’ The speaker was Atelon, a Riddinwr and a newcomer to the ranks of the senior brothers. ‘Perhaps Ethriss had Hawklan go there for that precise reason.’
Andawyr looked at him pensively for some time. ‘That’s true,’ he said. ‘And it’s a timely thought. We should always remind ourselves that we’re only mortals, and the subtleties and powers of the likes of Ethriss and Sumeral are well beyond our understanding. But I doubt Ethriss would volunteer his… host… his bearer… to the maw of Vrwystin A Kaethio, and while we might not have noted his passing from this age, we’d certainly have noticed his wakening.’
Atelon bowed in acknowledgement.
‘Then again,’ Andawyr muttered softly, ‘if Ethriss were gone from us wouldn’t we surely have felt His presence by now? Rampant in triumph?’
He fell silent for some time, then abruptly he turned to Oslang. ‘I don’t suppose you sent anyone to Anderras Darion as I asked?’ he said.
Oslang shook his head. ‘No, I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘We’d no small problem with the eye of the Goleg that you brought back. And… ’ He hesitated. ‘To be frank, as Ryath said, we doubted you. You passed through like a mountain storm, left us with a string of rambling suppositions and that abomination, and then you were gone. We all thought the unexpected encounter with the Goleg had unbalanced you temporarily and that after a day or so in the Pass you’d be back.’
Andawyr grimaced in self-reproach. ‘Well, I can’t criticize you for that, I suppose. I’ve been at the heart of these events and even I have difficulty in accepting their reality now I’m back here in our old familiar surround-ings.’ He slapped the arms of his chair affectionately. ‘Still, comforting surroundings or no, a new reality has come to pass and we must face it squarely.’ He looked at Ryath and smiled almost mischievously. ‘I know my tale’s strange, and lacks the niceties you’d appreciate, so I’ll not ask you if you’ve any questions, only amp;mdashdo you have any doubts?’
Ryath shook his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘You’re not what you were. I’ve got more questions than I can count, but I’m afraid I believe you utterly even though I’d rather not.’
‘Thank you, Ryath,’ Andawyr said, bowing. Then to the rest, ‘Do any of you have any doubts about my tale?’
Oslang shook his head. ‘No, Andawyr,’ he said. ‘Don’t be concerned. We too are not what we were. Controlling the eye of the Goleg shook some of us quite severely, and don’t forget, we saw the state you were in at the end of your journey, and listened to your ramblings for several days.’ He leaned forward signifi-cantly. ‘And don’t forget too how deep you were, even when we allowed you to wake again.’
Andawyr nodded and smiled. ‘Yes, of course,’ he said. ‘Forgive my arrogance in imagining that I was the only one who could learn anything new round here.’ Then he laughed outright and his sudden humour spread round the circle.
‘Look,’ he said, pointing to the window openings. ‘The sun still shines. Those hills and plains and the ocean over there teem with Ethriss’s great gift of life. Some power has arisen in Orthlund, as unseen and unsung as Sumeral himself. The Muster rides strong as ever to guard the Pass. The Fyordyn High Guard will guard the passes that breech their northern boundary… ’
Oslang raised a staying hand. ‘There are rumours abroad of… strange… happenings in Fyorlund,’ he said. ‘That the High Guards of the Lords have been replaced by black-liveried guards such as you described in Narsindal.’
Andawyr inclined his head to catch this message, but his flow continued, redirected. ‘Yes, rumours, rumours,’ he said. ‘In that one word, perhaps you have the crux of our neglect.’
‘Neglect?’ Oslang echoed.
‘Neglect,’ Andawyr confirmed.
‘Why are we all here?’ he asked suddenly.
Oslang shrugged vaguely at this unexpected ques-tion. ‘We continue the work of our predecessors appointed by Ethriss against the Second Coming of Sumeral,’ he recited.
Andawyr accepted and dismissed the answer. ‘Yes, but why are we all here?’
Oslang scowled. ‘Really,’ he said. ‘What do you mean?’
Andawyr opened his palms wide. ‘We are all here,’ he said. ‘At least a quarter of us should be out in the world. Travelling, learning, watching, listening. How long have we been like this? Skulking in our hole in the ground. Sitting here staring out of the windows and listening to gossip and rumour is no way to increase our knowledge and even less of a way to fulfil our duty to watch for the Second Coming.’
There was some awkward shuffling around the cir-cle. ‘I think you’re exaggerating,’ Ryath said, mildly indignant. ‘There’s usually someone out travelling. We’re all here now largely because of you… ’
Andawyr rounded on him, mildly scornful. ‘I’m probably the widest travelled one among us, but where do I get to? Round and about Riddin, and mainly northern Riddin at that. Gossiping with our neighbours, buying supplies.’
‘And Narsindal,’ someone said, defending his leader against his own assault.
‘Yes, Narsindal,’ Andawyr agreed reflectively. ‘But apart from my recent escapade, how long ago is it since any of us travelled any distance? Too long by far. And who here can claim an undying interest in Mandroc lore?’