eternity. The son you father on her will be worthy of you, and your father before you.
“That is exactly what was written,” Coilen said.
For a brief moment there was silence in the hall, and then old Cronan said, “It is time for the Shadow Princes to leave Hetar, my brothers. You must seek a new home. King Dillon will welcome you to Belmair until you have time to find this new home. Your valley will slowly disappear, and your palaces crumble.”
Lara was shocked. “Why must this be, my lord?” she asked Cronan.
He turned his gaze to her and smiled. “There was always a chance that the darkness would finally come and swallow Hetar. This happens now and again when the light simply cannot prevail, though it tries its hardest to do so, my daughter.”
“We have beaten back the darkness before,” Lara responded.
He nodded. “Aye, you have.”
“We can do it again!” she insisted.
“Not this time, Lara,” Cronan said. “If Kolgrim weds this maiden, the child they spawn will be all-powerful. Even Kolgrim will not be able to withstand him.”
“Then we must find the girl first, and prevent her marriage to Kolgrim,” Lara said.
“We must try,” Kaliq agreed.
Cronan smiled a sad smile at them. Then he sighed. “Sometimes,” he said, “even goodness and light such as yours cannot overcome evil, my brother. You know this to be truth, but it does not mean we will ever stop trying.” He turned back to Lara. “My daughter, we planned your existence carefully centuries ago. Your pedigree had to be exact with faerie blood outweighing mortal. You had to be so pure of heart that your faerie magic would be stronger than any before you. You were created for a dual purpose. To cause chaos in the Dark Lands by bearing Kol twin sons, and to create a new world that might be safe from the darkness for mortals. You have performed your task so far quite magnificently, but we creatures called Shadow Princes knew long ago that Hetar would eventually be overcome by the darkness. Your magic gave them the last opportunity they had to save themselves. They have not taken it.”
“If you knew I would not succeed,” Lara cried, “then what has been the point of all of this?” She could not quite believe what he had just said. There were many good people yet in the world of Hetar, in Terah, in the New Outlands. Still… She sighed a deep reluctant sigh. Cronan was extraordinarily wise, and not given to braggadocio.
“Do not despair, Lara, my daughter. You yet have a destiny to fulfill,” Cronan responded in kindly tones. “Be patient. All will be revealed in its time.” The old Shadow Prince looked to Kaliq. “You know what must be done, my brother. It is time. Within the next year the magic that is light must be gone from Hetar lest it be caught in the conflagration to come.” He looked out over the Shadow Princes assembled. “Are we in agreement, my brothers?”
“We are!” they responded with a single voice.
“Kaliq, I would speak with you privily,” Cronan said.
Lothair came up to where they stood. “Come, Lara,” he said quietly. “Andraste is ready for you to try once again.” He led her off before she might protest.
“She will attempt to prevent what is written,” Cronan said quietly. “Let her. She will fail, but she must try if she is to finally accept that Hetar has written its own fate.”
“This has all been quite a shock to her,” Kaliq said.
“Of course it is,” the elderly Shadow Prince said. “She has come to believe over the years that her destiny was to unite all of this world beneath one banner and live in peace.” He snorted with derision then continued, “You will need every ounce of patience you possess and more to contend with her disappointment, my brother. But Lara must fulfill her appointed destiny before you may have your eternity together.”
Kaliq laughed softly. “Aye, she will not give up her dream easily, but while stubborn her intellect is sharp. Once she is convinced herself that your words, though disturbing, are truth, she will do what she has been fated to do.”
“And you will be with her,” Cronan nodded. “Her destiny is your destiny, too, Kaliq, but then you always suspected it, didn’t you.” He smiled at his companion.
Kaliq smiled back. “I fell in love with her at first sight,” he admitted, “and then I knew. She is making her home here in Shunnar now.”
“She should,” Cronan said. “What is to come is too strong and will harm her powers if she remains in the mortal world. You must tell her that, Kaliq.”
“I will,” Kaliq promised.
“Then I must return to my tower on Belmair. Your brothers will rest there before seeking out their new home,” Cronan said.
“Where is that place?” Kaliq asked the ancient Shadow Prince.
Cronan shook his head. “Even I do not know that, my brother, but I do know I will never see it. I was the third of us to come from the ether, and it will soon be time for me to move on into that other world to be reborn once again. I will not return as a creature of the Shadows. Your son, Dillon, is the last of us. His son has magic, but not
When the glimmering vortex finally closed, Kaliq knew that Cronan had reached his destination. He sighed. Lara still had her destiny ahead of her, but bringing her to that destiny was going to prove difficult. She loved this world, and she had done so much good for it. Yet despite her bravery and sacrifices Hetar had relegated her to legend. They had not learned their lessons, and had now infected Terah and the New Outlands. Aye, there were good people among them, but even good people made bad choices. Kaliq sighed again, and then went to seek out Lara.
She was not with Lothair now. She had left Andraste, her singing sword with him and gone down into the valley of the horses, where their herds grazed. Looking down from the balustrade of his palace’s main corridor, he saw her walking toward her old friend and companion, Og, the giant, who cared for the horses of the Shadow Princes. He might have listened to their conversation from where he stood so high above them. But Kaliq did not. Much of what was to come Lara would have to work out in her own mind, and in her own time. But he knew how very disturbed she was by Cronan’s bleak pronouncements of what was to come.
Lara felt him watching her. Turning, she gazed up, but he was gone. She looked to the giant, calling his name. “Og!”
Og turned with a smile. Though small for a Forest Giant, due to an unfortunate childhood of near starvation, he was still a giant. His bright red hair was fading now, but his blue eyes were as sharp as ever. “Lara!” he greeted her with a smile, and then leaning down, he offered her his hand. Lara stepped into it, and Og raised it to his shoulder, setting her down gently where she might sit comfortably and speak with him. “I hear you have finally come to live with us here in Shunnar,” Og said, sounding very pleased.
“It was time,” Lara admitted, “and do not say past time, as so many have.”
Og chuckled, for that was exactly what he had been about to say. “I would never even think such a thing,” he prevaricated mischievously.
“I have come to bring you the news we have just received,” Lara said, and then she went on to explain about Kolgrim, and what Cronan had said. “Of course he is the oldest, and the wisest of the princes,” Lara admitted, “but I know we can overcome the darkness once again. And perhaps this time we must drive it from Hetar forever, even as Usi the Sorcerer was driven from Terah.”
“I don’t know, Lara,” Og said thoughtfully. “If Cronan says Hetar is lost, then it is surely lost. The old fellow isn’t one to make mistakes.”
“The history of Hetar is not completely written, Og,” Lara insisted. “With Kaliq’s aid I can prevent the darkness from overcoming Hetar. Have we not done it before?”
“I wonder if the horses are to go,” Og considered. “Would they take me with them? I shouldn’t like to leave my horses, and what of my new helper, Lara?”
Lara shook her head. Og was a simple man with simple needs. “If they go, you will go with them, and Leof, too.
