The training grounds were thoroughly saturated, covered from end to end with what might have looked like thousands of tiny ants from high above. A viewing platform had been erected and raised high. It was from here that Valam surveyed the lines of riders, hunters, pikemen, swordsmen, bowmen, and shield bearers.
"How goes the training, Prince Valam?" asked Chancellor Van'te.
"It goes well. Within the week we shall be ready to depart. The troops will have more than sufficient training by then; besides the winter snows are gone and they grow more restless with each passing day."
"Yes, I can see," answered Chancellor Van'te as he looked down at the group occupied in a match of crossed swords.
"It is all in fun. I think I will go join them. It is time I showed Brother Seth how to really handle a weapon."
"My lord, which is Ylsa's formation?" asked the chancellor in a fluid, casual manner.
"Third column from the--" Valam stopped, catching himself in a blunder.
Van'te held back a laugh as the prince descended from the platform and crossed the field to join Evgej and Seth's group.
"There you are, Chancellor Van'te," said Keeper Martin as he appeared at the top of the balcony. "Father Jacob and I were just discussing a few things. We want your opinion also. I think we should go back to the planning room."
Chancellor Van'te sent for horses and the two, with a small escort, returned to Quashan'. The keeper enjoyed the short stint in the saddle although he would have preferred to return in the same manner he had arrived. It would have been quicker and much more efficient.
During the brief ride, Van'te talked with the keeper only sporadically; mostly he pondered his own concerns. He was glad that Prince Valam had come home although he didn't like the idea of his leaving so soon. He had been silently siding with Isador and King Andrew. It was time for the prince to marry and settle down. He had held high hopes that Valam would find a suitable wife when he returned, but now the plans of courtship and wedding would have to be put on hold.
The two walked quietly toward the great hall, which had been converted to a planning room. A man of great wisdom, the chancellor now sought to anticipate what Father Jacob and Keeper Martin wished to discuss. He plotted his options and his responses accordingly. He noted how strangely quiet the palace was for mid-day. It was not the center of the activities in South Province any more. Most of the pages and guards had been dispatched to the camp to keep everything in order there. The chancellor sighed. The majority of those that remained in the palace were servants that tended to cleaning and upkeep. He rather missed the bustling days. The camp was too disorderly for him. In the palace, he could maintain control and do so in an orderly fashion.
The chancellor could see from the dark circles under Keeper Martin's eyes that he had not slept in a very long time; along with the fatigue, a rigid mask of worry had also set in. When they reached the hall, Van'te saw that Father Jacob did not look much better; if it were possible, he looked worse.
"Why the glum moods? Is it truly that bad here?" joked Van'te.
"No, chancellor, your hospitality has been exquisite. We are having a crisis. Oh, how do I start? Let me just say this bluntly. The situation we are dealing with is very grave. We thought it best we told you here in private," began Father Jacob, pausing to take a sip from a glass of water.
"Go on," said Chancellor Van'te, eager to hear what Jacob had to say.
"Last night Keeper Martin received a dream message from the Council of Keepers, the second. It was pretty unclear in parts but quite vivid in others. Many things are changing. They mentioned great shifts in power."
"Shifts in power?" Chancellor Van'te couldn't quite follow what Jacob was saying.
"From the Father and the Mother. I have felt it from the Father, and the priestesses of the Mother sent word to the council that the Mother was distressed."
Jacob took another sip from his glass; the liquid trickling down his throat soothed its soreness.
"What do you mean distressed?" interrupted Van'te again, his face quite livid with anger, "Why wasn't I told sooner?"
"There is more. Please be patient. I have not told Prince Valam yet either."
"So why did Keeper Martin only come for me?"
"Chancellor, please, I know you are angry. That is understandable, but we had to be sure that what we told you was correct. As you can see, I haven't slept for many days.
"Two nights ago I felt the Father cry out. I have never felt such great emotions. They were quite clear, as if something were tearing him apart; then they changed suddenly and calmed. Something terrible has come to pass. The portent has come. I can feel it.
"The darkness has returned to Kir."
Van'te gasped as Jacob uttered the forbidden word, and at the same time it flooded his thoughts with memories. For a moment the implications of Jacob's words were lost as he focused solely on the word and not what Jacob had just finished telling him; then it clicked and he understood. "It is no more?"
"So it seems. We may be too late in journeying to the Eastern Reaches, but we must try."
"How soon must we leave?"
"As soon as possible."
"That will take a great deal of work, yet I think Prince Valam and I can get everything together," spoke Van'te, adding, "now if you'll excuse me I need to start."
"Wait! Chancellor Van'te, there is something else," yelled Keeper Martin.
"What is it?" responded Van'te impatiently.
"Well, it is a delicate matter," spoke Father Jacob, motioning for the chancellor to step back into the room and close the door.
"Yes?" said Van'te, his eyes flashing; the chancellor was naturally an impatient person. Time was very important to him. He couldn't stand to waste even a moment of its preciousness.
"It is Prince Valam," replied Martin.
Chancellor Van'te drummed his fingers on the edge of the table, waiting for the keeper to hurry up and tell him what he was going to say.
"We do not feel it is the proper time for him to leave the kingdom. We feel he should stay here."
"We? I can feel something," added Jacob.
Van'te understood now why Keeper Martin had been slow to speak his mind and why they had brought him here alone. He felt foolish for his flippant attitude.
"I am sorry; I am often impetuous. It is just that I am overzealous," said Van'te.
"We know how you are. There is nothing wrong with that."
"You and your brother are much alike," added Jacob with a chuckle as he pictured Yi in this situation.
"I will talk to Prince Valam," said Van'te, "yet you both need to promise me something."
"Certainly, if there is any way we can help."
"Yes, actually there is. You two go and get some sleep. I'll need you at your fullest over these next days."
Jacob offered no arguments, yet Martin stared, dreary eyes and all, at the chancellor as the two departed. Chancellor Van'te sent for runners and his page. He had many things to prepare before this day was out. He sent the first runner to find Prince Valam; and afterwards, he dispatched several others to spread the news throughout the camp and to bring word to the ship captains.
Van'te didn't have much time to consider how he wanted to direct the conversation with Prince Valam before the page returned, panting heavily from the run. Van'te dismissed him in quick order with one last errand for the day, just as the prince and several others arrived. Valam could see from the disorder in the room and the wild look in Van'te's eyes that something drastic was amiss. He signaled for the guards to close the door behind him.
"We came as soon as we could. The page sounded so urgent. What is it?" asked Valam.
Chancellor Van'te quickly explained, touching only lightly on what had been said, and moved on to talk about stepping up the preparations for departure.
"Will you have enough time to get everything in order?"
Captain Vadan Evgej eyed the chancellor. "We will most certainly try!" he said.
Valam added, "We will do more than try; we will do it!" and then they each scrambled off.
"Prince Valam?" called out Van'te after him, "Could you wait a moment please."
Prince Valam detected the tone of Van'te's voice and grew concerned.
"What is wrong?"
The chancellor quickly calculated all the ways he could best explain to Valam the gravity of the situation. He thought of just telling him bluntly what Martin had said although he knew Valam well enough to know that he had to put the matter delicately. The words he chose never reached his lips. Within the upturned, waiting eyes, he saw a thing he would relish for years to come, the impatient longing of youth.
"Prince Valam, do not forget to check the ships in port."
Valam promised he would not and raced after the others.
"Prince Valam?" called out the chancellor again, as he stepped into the hall.
"Yes," came the distant response.
Van'te hesitated again.
"Did I tell you Isador is returning to Imtal Palace? Which means the--"
"--wedding plans are off," finished Valam happily, ending his retreat.
"Yes, she has plans for another now."
"Adrina?" asked Valam turning to face the chancellor, staring down the long hall.
"So it would seem," cast back the chancellor.
Men were sent to gather equipment and food stores and to load the ships. Confusion, which took a concerted effort to quell, spread throughout the camp. All were eager to leave; however, they had not thought it would be so soon. Once they were on the ships there would be no turning back.
Captain Cagan drank in the night air from the sea. He had departed with the first detachment sent to the coast. It had been so long since he had sailed. He longed to be back on the open water. Thinking of the sea reminded him of home, which seemed suddenly closer. He had come to know these people and respect their ways. He counted them as friends. Still, there was no substitute for his own home.
"Captain Cagan, thinking of home?" came the voice from the shore.
"Yes, Brother Seth, I am." Cagan shouted back.
"Me too!" intoned Seth quietly, "Me too."
Seth jumped into one of the long boats that were shuttling back and forth from the shore.
"She is a fine ship, Captain Cagan. Looks almost like--" shouted Seth as he climbed to the low deck.
"My old ship. Yes. A friend at the shipyard wanted to know how we designed our ships. I drew him up some diagrams. Our ships are not much different. The hull shapes are almost identical."
Seth shot a quick salutation to the oarsman and then yawned a heavy, stretching yawn. The making of ships didn't interest him as it did Cagan, yet he wouldn't interrupt; his friend's love for ships was clear. Cagan babbled on for awhile with Seth adding little to the conversation. He stared out across the black waters, looking to a distant shore. Thoughts of home filled his mind.
"I knew it! I knew I would find you two here," said Valam as he and Evgej emerged from the opposite side of the deck.
"All clear," he shouted down to the oarsman.
"All clear, cast off," was the return response.
"All should be set soon; isn't this fantastic?"
Seth nodded and Cagan returned to his talk of ships. Valam smiled as he crossed to Seth, joining him in his fixed stare out across the waters. He absorbed the peacefulness of the waves and the setting of the sun, a red-orange ball of fire one-third submerged beneath the dark waters.
Valam didn't invalidate the grand illusion with clear thoughts. He relaxed for a moment, allowing his mind to wander freely. "Check the ships in port indeed," he muttered to himself, wondering what the old chancellor was up to.
As he surveyed the ship, he saw a glowing shimmer shoot up the main mast. The soft golden glow lasted only a moment but the way the light moved reminded him of what had happened when Eldrick had entered the Sentinel tree. Couldn't be, could it? He thought to himself as he stared up at the mast. The thought was lost though as Seth and Cagan urged him up to the high deck. From the high deck near the ship's wheel, the trio stared out into the night and wondered what the morrow would bring.