Rider's of Tethra Chapter 22
in Chapter Twenty-Two
"Overlord is a term others have chosen to identify a person that remains a mystery to only but a few," Fellsmane said as he settled into his chair. "I am simply the keeper of the lore and have been gifted with slightly stronger range in my ability to ride. The most important task for me has been to watch for lore-signs indicating a gathering of forces."
Kevyn simply looked at the other four boys who were still reacting to the fact that they were sitting in the presence of the overlord.
"You four are rather a surprise," Fellsmane continued grabbing a morsel from the table. "The lore-signs suggested perhaps a return of the two, Pandor and Farin -- or their like but never four. And as you see," he said pointing to bookshelves that lined the walls of room, "there is plenty of literature to confirm that prediction. As far as I know, only one book has been missing and it appears that it has revealed itself to you."
"It didn't reveal much," Rory said producing the small book from his tunic. "It's written in Magin and the only person I knew that might possibly be able to read it was you." He handed the book to the old man.
Fellsmane flipped through the pages quickly, eyebrows rising and falling as he caught a few lines here and there. "You all have had quite an ordeal in even getting here and perhaps it would be better if you simply got to know Kevyn for a little while. Kevyn, there are no secrets with these boys, nothing is to be concealed. I will require an hour or more to see what is revealed within these pages. Please excuse me." With that, he got up and disappeared through a door at the back of the main lodge room.
After a period of what appeared to be awkward silence but was actually a chaotic rush of telepathic messages, the four focused on Kevyn, since they could not all ride him at the same time.
"How did you come to know Fellsmane in the first place?" Hunter asked, curious about a boy whose existence only Rory was aware of.
Kevyn shifted uncomfortably in his chair. No one knew of his history with the overlord nor of his brother or much of anything for that matter. But he was under direct orders to reveal those secrets to these boys.
"My brother and I were abandoned in Squall's End, when we were about three, we are told. Both parents had died. We are twins. Da happened to be in town at that time and for some reason he felt a connection between us and himself. So, he asked the overseer for permission to take us and raise us. As you can see, Da is not young and so he needed practical advice as to how to care for young children. That's where your mother came in, Rory. She made sure he knew how to care for us and what supplies he would need as we grew."
Rory looked stunned. His mother providing parenting advise to the overlord and he had no idea. He had just assumed a friendship but had not looked for a reason although he now knew what might be expected of him. For the next hour, Kevyn answered questions about himself and Keven. Apparently, although twins, Kevyn was gifted with the ability to be read by Fellsmane at very long distances, even greater than those of anyone else including those at Pandor's Fen, while his twin was not. Thus, they discovered that Kevyn became a spy for Fellsmane and because of the overlord's and Kevyn's riding range, if Kevyn could make it to Frandown Rise, he could allow himself to turn over his thoughts to his guardian on pre-arranged visits to his "mother," Kardia.
"So even the overlord has limitations," Sayer said out loud.
"He does but he also has the ability to override blocking as well as mask his intrusions. He knows what is going on at Pandor's Fen through Doyen Parfell and he was aware of Sayer's communication with Hunter."
Hunter fired off a quick message to the other three boys. "Fellsmane said Kevyn had to share all his secrets but it seems Fellsmane has not yet told him about our telepathic abilities. I suggest we share only what we feel we must."
"How did he manage to get beyond our blocks when he rode us on the way here?" Hunter asked.
"I am not sure," the older boy responded. "His riding ability seems to be the strongest in the land. I would guess that includes the ability to go around attempts to prevent him from doing so. Still, he has range limitations and since he cannot send messages to me, he must meet me at Frandown Rise to give me instructions. He would have met me there now but I figure that I am needed here because you are here."
The boys learned about Kevyn's twin brother and the role he was playing at the moment. They learned of Pagnor's trust in him and of the message that had been sent to Korlin.
"So Pagnor hasn't put his wife and boy in jail then?" Sayer confirmed.
"No," Kevyn said. "I have dealt with all of the doges of the four alliances. All of them are ruthless except for Pagnor. His weakness is his strength. He cares for Torinar and its people. I doubt he would put any family in prison unless it was a treasonable offense. I'm only fifteen but because of my age and my obviously spying "father," the trader, it has been noticed that I share nothing that I learn with anyone, especially not him. My loyalty is to Fellsmane and if I had to choose another, it would be Pagnor. He is able to admit his mistakes and take advice from his counselors. Maginar could do worse than aligning itself with Torinar."
"You seem to have a lot of experience for your age, Kevyn," Hunter observed. "If an alliance with Torinar would be good, why hasn't it happened?"
"I think one problem with Maginar is that there is no single leader to represent the holding. Who is going to negotiate with Torinar? Do the overseers of every village get to advise Maginar's representative? And who is the representative? No one other than you guys, Keven and I know of Da's role or abilities. And the villages don't even know that Lorenwood exists or Pandor's Fen. All they know is they have a skilled Rider in certain towns but they are not given knowledge as to why his skill is so much more advanced than those that can casually ride as a matter of heredity I suppose. Everyone, until lately, has assumed that Pandor and Fen left the holding in complete safety forever."
"Will Pagnor's orders to Korlin be followed?" Talen asked.
Kevyn looked down at his feet, his face seeming to struggle with an answer. After a few moments he replied. "Korlin will follow them for sure. He does not know the closeness of Shanna with Pagnor. They consider themselves brother and sister. But sharing that with Korlin would only lessen his concern and motivation to return to Torinar. But Pagnor has not met Ebalt. The man is a sly, self-serving pig. He trusts no one. I think he will look at the mock invasion exercise and turn it into a real attack somewhere. Pagnor is trying to get Korlin to move more quickly to escape but I think this puts him in danger. He has no way to tell Pagnor if the plans are changed."
"And there's nothing you, or Fellsmane or we can do?" Hunter questioned.
"I could never get back to Kelna in time to find out or carry a message back to Pagnor. It has been hard enough trying to be here and in Orm Kirk when required. Thank the light for Keven. I see nothing that can be done."
Fellsmane entered the room again, seeming a little shaken and handing the book back to Rory.
"It seems this book is meant to be returned to Rory, to a boy who bears a last name in the ancient tongue."
Rory took the book in his hand as if it might burn him. "What does it say?" he asked.
"It is the missing link in the lore of Pandor and Farin. It seems that after the tensions were diverted long ago when they controlled the leaders of the alliances, they needed to isolate themselves. Their heroics had made them targets of friends and foes alike. As you know blocking is as exhausting as is riding. Imagine every male with even a slight bit of skill attempting constantly to ride them. Finally, under the pretext of ensuring security, they explored Maginar as completely as they could. It was during those journeys that One was built. They enjoyed the seclusion and worked at developing even deeper skills than the ones they already possessed. Although very weak, they noticed visions -- identical visions -- and saw danger looming in the future. They saw a training school that would surround One and then they saw The Four."
"The Four?" Sayer questioned.
"They saw four boys that had every ability that they had and more. They saw Maginar overridden by alliances unless The Four could find a way to stop them. It was no longer a simple matter of just turning the alliances against one another -- all of them knew of the legend of Pandor and Farin and all of them knew that boys of Maginar had a special gift. They saw their secret residence high in the Helmshill and there they traveled to remain until rising above our parallel. This book fell into the hands of the Four, particularly Rory, as it was intended to do. They saw The Four lodged in One and left the final chapter in the book. That is it. There is no prediction of the future beyond the bonding of The Four and the solution to one last mystery that only you may see."
"What is it!" Hunter exclaimed, his mind overwhelmed with his place in this and his frustration about not knowing what they were to do.
"I am instructed, by the book, to teach Rory the Maginar language."
"What?" Rory reacted incredulously, "That could take years! We don't have years if all that we have been told is upon us!"
Hunter, Talen and Sayer nodded in agreement. Kevyn, seemed simply lost by all of this. He was a messenger, a loved son and had the gift of range.
"The book details a powerful secret, one that I now possess but will not be allowed to keep," Fellsmane said a bit sadly. "Pandor and Farin, in their solitude and study while in One, developed a transcendence ride."
"What the fuck is going on?" Hunter yelled. "This isn't even in the common tongue and you are using common tongue words! We're four boys, not some damn learned old men!"
Kevyn winced at Hunter's choice of words being spoken to Fellsmane. The others seemed to agree that whatever was going on right now was way beyond them.
Fellsmane allowed himself to laugh for the second time since they met. "I was warned of your delicate ways of putting things!"
For whatever reason, everyone in the room began to laugh, the tension broken finally.
Fellsmane continued, "To put it simply, I can transfer in a ride with Rory, all my knowledge of Magin and the lore. According to the instructions in here, the whole thing should take less that an hour. The book Rory is holding is sealed for the last few pages. Only he may break the seal and read what lies in them. At that point, I am assuming you all will be telling me what my role will be in our future."
"Why me?" Rory asked, placing the old book on the table.
"I suspect you are a descendant, in some way, to Pandor. As far as we know, the two of them never had children but Pandor was part of a Maginar family and lore has it they were highly gifted.
"The guys in Fourteen said you would be a lore master, Rory," Talen recalled. "Looks like they knew what they were talking about."
"This is getting more and more complicated every minute," Rory complained. "It would be nice if we could just relax for one day before we tackle saving the world!"
"He's right," Sayer said. "If it weren't for Hunter, there would be no Rory to read the sealed pages. I think it would be good for all of us to rest tonight if you don't see an immediate danger, sir."
"I agree completely," Fellsmane grinned. "Let's enjoy the fire and a fine meal, maybe with stories of Hunter's world. Perhaps it is the same parallel from which Farin came."
"There's not much to tell," Hunter responded.
"The hell there isn't," Talen rebutted. "What were all those things on the roads? What was the silly woman looking at in the healer's office? Why was everything so dry and rocky? You have a lot you could tell us, Hunter."
So, the evening was spent with Hunter explaining the twenty-first century of his parallel, answering dozens of questions throughout the telling. As the fire reduced to embers, all of them climbed the stairs and retired to soft beds to sleep dreamlessly into the next morning.