‘That you could utter such… heresy, here in this tower,’ said Denser, his face blazing with his rage. ‘I am the Lord of the Mount and you will release me, Hirad. Perhaps Dystran was right. Guards!’
The door opened but it was not guards who entered, it was Sol.
‘Fantastic,’ he said. ‘This is the face of unity, is it? Gods drowning, Hirad, put him down. And all of you calm down. I could hear you half way down The Thread.’
Hirad shoved Denser back into his chair.
‘I want-’
‘Denser, shut up. We’re in big trouble but there might just, just be a way out. We need to talk to Septern. I presume you’ve verified it is him by now. And first you need to hear an old friend.’
Sol pushed open the door. Hirad sat back in his chair, unable to believe his eyes.
Standing in the doorway was Auum.
Chapter 17
Auum stared at the humans, the living and the dead, as they bickered their way towards catastrophe. At first it had been fascinating. The legendary mage Septern had spoken at length about the history of his dimensional discoveries but had not been allowed to discuss what he was here to discuss. Hirad Coldheart, whose shadow adorned the wall to Auum’s left, had brought to the table all the raging belief that had at first irritated but now endeared him to Auum and indeed all the elves. And Ilkar had spoken carefully and tactfully about what had happened to the dead of Balaia. Yet still they fought, and in the middle Denser appeared not to know who to believe.
Auum himself had remained silent, answering only direct questions thus far, and there had been few enough of them. He had been content to rest a little, eat a little and drink a good amount of water. The mages who had carried him and his Tai from the ship and all the way north to Xetesk on flickering Freedom Wings were exhausted and sleeping. He had no time for that. Not yet.
‘I’m not going to repeat myself again,’ said Denser. ‘No one else is leaving because there is nowhere to go. Here we stand and here we fight. As for you and your dead, Hirad, you do what you like.’
‘That is a shameful statement,’ said Hirad. ‘We exist in pain every heartbeat yet we endure it because we desire only to help the living survive and so secure ourselves a new place of rest. Or we hope that. The fact is, we have no certainty whatever about the outcome. We’re here because of those we love. I had counted you among those people. Perhaps I was mistaken.’
‘But you have no answers!’ Denser was practically screaming in his frustration. ‘Your best gambits so far are: give them the Heart and hope they stop, or get us all to the west and some mythical Wesmen-organised escape route. You are talking about the end of magic on Balaia at the very least and an abandonment of our home dimension at the ridiculous worst.’
‘We are talking about a return to a more natural state of magic,’ said Ilkar. ‘And is that not better than certain extinction?’
‘I will not relinquish our only true chance of beating these bastards, Ilkar.’
‘No, what you won’t relinquish is Xetesk’s power over Balaia. And it’ll do you no good because they will simply come in here and take it. They make the demons look like a bunch of apple scrumpers. Why won’t you understand that?’
Denser was on his feet again and Ilkar stood opposite him. Both jabbed fingers and puffed out chests. Auum watched Ilkar with discomfort, the elf’s words coming from a youthful human mouth.
‘You fear that, don’t you, Ilkar? Xetesk being the only magical power remaining on Balaia. It’s pathetic.’
‘I’m dead, in case you hadn’t noticed. I couldn’t care less who is left and who isn’t so long as it means I can return to my rest. But you, you and your Circle Seven and that bastard snake Dystran, you desire dominion, don’t you? And that should scare us all. Because you’ll sacrifice the lot of us pursuing this folly. But you have to listen to what everyone bar your inner circle of power-mongers tells you: we have to run.’
‘Where, damn you, where? What do I advise my people? Follow these dead west but I don’t know where or why? Dear Gods falling, please throw me a scrap here.’
‘I know where,’ said Auum.
For a moment the noise of the argument continued but Auum’s voice had a way of leaching through even the most sewn-down of ears. One by one, they turned to him. He waited until he had the attention of them all.
‘And so do the Wesmen.’
‘You could have said so before,’ said Hirad. ‘Told you, Denser.’
‘But then, like all of you, I would have been speaking before I was truly ready,’ said Auum. He was staring at Denser. ‘I will speak without interruption.’
Denser spread his hands. ‘Help yourself.’
‘Then sit, all of you, and hear me because time runs short and your complaining brings all of our deaths closer. Denser, you are wrong. The Garonin are unstoppable but they are escapable. Their resources are stretched but this dimension is so dense with mana that they will pour what they must into it to gain it all. And they will come back time and again when the density builds. This world is no longer viable for man or elf.
‘Ilkar, you are wrong too. They will not stop after gaining the Hearts. The mana held in the soul of each man living and in each dead soul is too much to ignore. This is still a populous country. They will annihilate everyone while collecting their verrian. You should have read the lore of the Ynissul more closely while you still lived.’
Auum gestured at Septern. ‘And you, great mage returned, you have many of the answers but your memories are flawed. You have been dead too long. But even you are aware of the cost to some of our survival, as are all of the dead around this table though they hesitate to admit what they truly need. I see it in your eyes. In a moment you shall speak of Ulandeneth but first I shall say this:
‘Any who wish to escape the Garonin, and that is the only way to survive them, have two choices. The first and infinitely preferable, though terribly dangerous, is to travel west to the Charanacks, the Wesmen. They and their Shamen can open the first door. It is dangerous because such a concentration of souls will attract the Garonin and you will be beset.
‘The second choice is to try and hold the fastnesses of Julatsa, Xetesk and Korina for long enough to allow those who travel the first door to find the new home and open escape routes there for all remaining souls in this dimension. However, the Garonin are already too close and will overwhelm your cities within days. Far too quickly in any event for the corridors to be opened.’
Sol raised a hand. ‘Auum, if I may speak before you call on Septern?’
Auum nodded.
‘Thank you. One point of interest you raise is the concentration of souls. Surely if we break up those concentrations, we deflect Garonin interest or certainly dilute their attack front by spreading ourselves more thinly.’
Auum smiled. ‘That may be so but it merely delays the inevitable. The Garonin means of travel and detection of mana will bring them to their quarry in time.’
‘But surely worth a try,’ said Denser, staring squarely at Hirad. ‘Anyone who wants to run and hide in the Blackthorne Mountains and the Wesman Heartlands can do so. That will draw attention from those dedicated to the service and defence of Xetesk and Balaia.’
‘I may be dead, Denser, but I’m still quicker than you, all right?’ said Hirad.
‘Spare me, Hirad.’
‘You are betraying The Raven.’
‘I am trying to save my people,’ said Denser.
‘We are your people.’
‘Were.’
‘Enough,’ said Sol, resting a restraining hand on Hirad’s bunched arm. ‘Auum.’
‘You demonstrate further ignorance, Denser,’ said Auum.
Denser shook his head and sighed. ‘I will beat myself later. What is it this time?’
‘None of the dead around this table have the luxury of running to hide. Do they, Septern? Do they, Hirad,
