The Twilight Lord

“Come now, Magnus, you know the answer to that as well as I do. You would have mounted an expedition and warred with the Dark Landers. We could not allow it. Had you attacked them you would have loosed the forces of darkness upon both Terah and Hetar. Your worlds would not have known real peace for centuries. The darkness must always be contained, Magnus. We cannot wipe it out entirely for there must always be a certain balance between good and evil, but we can contain the worst of it. When we do not, war, pestilence, cruelty and famine roam the worlds and cause havoc.”

“But the Dark Land has always remained to itself,” Magnus Hauk said.

“Yes, but as there is prophecy here and in Hetar, so there is prophecy in the Dark Lands. Lara has always known that she had a special destiny. Part of that destiny is in the Dark Lands. When she has fulfilled it she will be returned to you. Shortly, that part of her destiny will be met. And it must be met or the worlds of Hetar and Terah will suffer. That is why you could not know where she was. You must trust me in this. I will allow no harm to come to Lara. I would forfeit my own life first.”

“When she returns to us, will she tell us of where she had been and what she has done?” Dillon asked the prince.

“Nay, young Dillon, she will not. Her memory of her time in the Dark Lands will be completely gone from her, and it is better that it is. She will be told that part of her destiny has been implemented and she will be satisfied with that knowledge,” the prince explained.

“Why will you not tell us what she is doing?” Magnus Hauk asked.

“Because it is not necessary that you know,” Kaliq responded quietly. “I will tell you only that Lara is helping us to keep the balance between the darkness and the light. Anything else would be too much for you to bear, Magnus Hauk. Why are you so suddenly insistent on meddling in matters of magic?”

“Because it is my wife whom you are using as your tool,” the Dominus said angrily.

Kaliq laughed aloud although he had tried not to. “Ah, my poor friend. How fortunate Lara is to have you for her husband. No other mortal could possibly love her as you do.” He put a comforting arm about the Dominus’s broad shoulders. “Please trust me, Magnus. Your time of separation is almost over. I swear it.”

“It would seem I have no choice unless it is to amass my armies and go into the Dark Lands,” the Dominus replied.

“You would be advised not to do that for many reasons but probably the one that would concern you the most is Hetar’s plan to attack Terah shortly. They believe that you have been weakened by Lara’s disappearance and they have convinced their people that Terah poses a threat to Hetar. Their proposed war against you is being undertaken to protect Hetar, or so it is being said. The Coastal Kings have been building great ships of war. I suspect you had best prepare to defend your own kingdom while Lara completes her destiny and balances the light and the darkness.”

“So that is why we have seen so little of Jonah of late,” the Dominus muttered. “Can you close the portal so he may not return? That way he cannot report when we reinforce our defenses along the sea and at the fjord entrances.”

Kaliq smiled. “The portal is already closed, Magnus. And now I must go. I wish to take Dillon with me for a time-with your permission, of course. I will return him shortly,” Kaliq promised.

Dillon’s green eyes grew wide with his excitement. “I am to be allowed to go to Shunnar?” he said and then his look swung to the Dominus. “Magnus?”

“I do not know,” Magnus Hauk replied. “Your mother did not want you going until you were twelve, Dillon.”

“Going to be taught,” the prince quickly interjected, “and I certainly agree with Lara, but this is just a little visit to quell Dillon’s curiosity and to ease his anxiety over his mother. I will return him in three days’ time, I promise you.”

“Oh, please, Magnus!” the boy begged. “Please!”

“No more than three days, Kaliq, for I need him by my side,” the Dominus said.

Kaliq nodded. “I understand,” he said, and he did. Dillon with his budding magic was the closest thing Magnus Hauk had to Lara now.

“Very well then, but three days only, Dillon. Do you understand?” the Dominus told his stepson. “If your mother returned while you were gone I should have a great deal of explaining to do about this.”

“Thank you, Magnus,” the boy said as Kaliq enfolded him in his robes. And then they were gone in a magical and shadowy mist.

Magnus Hauk stood silently for some minutes after they had disappeared. He was very curious about what the Shadow Prince had said. A balance between good and evil that must be maintained. What had that to do with Lara? He wondered if he would ever really know what Kaliq had meant. He found himself impatient sometimes with the magical world that lived alongside of him.

Magnus Hauk left the chamber and sought his lonely bed. He had other matters to consider now, namely Hetar. He had hoped the clever Jonah could keep that fool who called himself emperor under control. But either he could not, or like his master he believed Terah was weak without Lara. The thought irritated the Dominus. Terah had been strong before Lara and would remain so in her unfortunate absence. I hope I have done the right thing allowing Dillon to go with Kaliq, he thought to himself just before he fell asleep.

DILLON HAD CLOSED his eyes when the Shadow Prince had wrapped his cloak about him. Now Kaliq’s voice bade him to open those eyes. It was morning and the air was warm. Nay, hot. Seeing a sculpted balustrade across the chamber, he remembered his mother’s tales of her mentor’s palace of Shunnar. Unable to help himself, Dillon ran to the balustrade and looked down in the green valley below where several herds of magnificent horses were now grazing.

“Oh, my lord, it is just as my mother said!” he exclaimed excitedly. Then he turned about. “Why have you brought me here now?” he asked softly.

“I thought it was time for you to choose one of my horses for your own,” the prince answered smiling. “You need a like companion, for you are a unique boy in your world, Dillon. I will call the giant Og, your mother’s friend who is my horse master, and he will take you down into the valley. You will like him.”

“Mother has told me all about Og,” Dillon responded. “I have always wanted to meet him. She says he is a small giant but most kind.”

The prince smiled and called to one of his servants to request that Og join them.

The giant came and while Lara might say he was small, he seemed very large to Dillon. He might have been afraid were it not for Og’s gentle blue eyes. “Do not tell me! Do not tell me!” Og exclaimed. “I would know you anywhere-Dillon, son of Lara.”

Reaching down he lifted the boy up and settled him in the crook of his arm so they might speak on a more even level. “Welcome to Shunnar, young master. I did not expect that we would meet for another few years.” He smiled cheerfully at Dillon.

“Take the boy to the valley, Og,” the prince said. “Find him a horse that will be his own, and together, begin to train it.”

“I will, my lord prince,” Og said and then looked at Dillon. “Tell me, young master, have you any particular color horse in mind?”

“Well,” Dillon said, “I thought perhaps a dappled gray, Og. Do you think there is one in the valley that would be suitable for me?”

“We will have to go and look,” Og said. He set Dillon down again. “Follow me then, lad, and we will see where your horse is.” He bowed to the prince. “How long would you like me to keep him, my lord? We really should have the day.”

“You have it,” Kaliq said smiling, and he watched as Og moved off with the boy running in his effort to keep up. The prince then turned to his waiting servant. “Bring me the reflecting mirror,” he said and when the servant had complied he withdrew from the chamber. Kaliq placed the oval, set into a golden frame, into a polished wood stand. Then standing before it he said quietly, “Come to me, lord of the Munin.” At once, the wraithlike creature who spoke for his brothers appeared in the glass.

“Help us, Kaliq of the Shadows,” the Munin lord said, his filmy arms outstretched.

“What help do you require of me?” Kaliq murmured. “Are you not content in the Penumbras in the castle the Twilight Lord created for you?”