(THOB) Chapter 66: Myths And Rumors (Patreon)

The thumping sounds of arrows as they found the target boards brought a sense of satisfaction to Ezril. He found he preferred it to the sound that came with it piercing flesh. The darkness of the bow hall around him was disturbed by the soft glow from the lantern a few paces behind him. Tonight, his brothers walked the night with him. A walk that found them here.

“How do you do that, brother?” Takan asked him.

Salem drew back on his bow string. “I think it best not to ask.” He let his arrow fly, and missed.

They stood in a line, releasing their arrows in an attempt to hit the target boards drowned in darkness over fifty or so paces away.

“How do I do what, brother?” Ezril asked.

Darvi’s arrow flew into the dark digging into its target. “There is nothing fulfilling about this,” he complained. “When you miss there is dissatisfaction. When you hit your target it feels like luck. It breeds no satisfaction.”

Salem smiled. “Don’t complain, brother.”

Takan groaned as he missed again. “How do you hit anything in this darkness.” His voice was adequately exasperated. “And how are you able to do anything in the dark. You can track in the dark, brother. Something Olufemi can’t do... yet.”

Ezril lowered his bow. “If I tell you, will you keep my secret?”

All of them turned to observe him, their expressions curious.

“Will you keep it a secret?” he asked again. “For a secret, it is.”

“Tell us, brother,” Salem answered. “We will.”

“Well…” Ezril smiled. “I was born in the night.”

There was a long pause. Then Darvi broke it.

“That’s it?” he asked, incredulous.

Olufemi made a grunt Ezril interpreted as a restrained laugh.

“Horse piss!” Takan accused. “That’s a load of horse piss if I ever did hear one.”

“You should not joke with us so, brother,” Darvi said, shaking his head. “I fear I may not take you seriously for a while.”

“Wait! What’s happening?” Ezril turned to his brothers as they left him, flabbergasted. “Where you guys really serious? How long has this been going on?”

Darvi returned his bow with a shrug. “Ever since you started your night walks.”

“And how easily you climb the stairs even when its dark,” Salem added.

“You did confuse us at some point, brother,” Takan said before turning his attention to Salem. “Remember?”

“Yes.” It was Darvi who answered.

“They taught you might be afraid of the dark,” Olufemi told Ezril in Vrail.

Salem shrugged. “You can’t hold it against us, brother. You would run out of the room in the middle of the night just to light a torch. It would be a while before you would then return.”

Takan walked over to him, offering to take his quiver. “Darvi said it was bad dreams.”

Salem sat beside the lantern. “But you never made any sound. Just woke up and ran,” he added. “Nothing like Divine’s…”

The hall fell silent. Salem almost never spoke of the brother.

“Divine had nightmares?” Darvi asked, his voice empathetic.

Salem nodded. “After the test of awareness. He could hardly sleep if I wasn’t there.”

“He was the only innocent one of us,” Olufemi added, sad. He had spoken in the Alduin tongue.

For the briefest moment nobody made a sound. Sometimes Ezril wondered if Olufemi did it to solicit surprise. Then Takan snorted and the quiet was broken but the air was still solemn.

“Yes.” Salem smiled. “At least he died in his innocence. It is far preferable than learning the evil men are capable of…”

… But he knew it. He knew it all too well.

Ezril left the words unsaid.

“Did you ever find out what haunted our brother?” he asked, instead.

Salem shook his head. “He never wanted to talk about it.” He fixed Ezril with a glare.

Ezril’s brows furrowed. “What?”

“I know he told you.”

“I would tell you, brother, but…”

Salem raised a hand to stall him. “I know, brother. Promises must be kept.” His voice bore no malice. “Even to the dead.”

Somehow, Salem’s understanding hurt more than Ezril imagined possible.

“How I would love to meet an apostle,” Takan drawled, changing the subject with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Salem scoffed. “An apostle? You should know better, brother.”

Takan frowned. “What?”

“Apostles are merely the seminary’s myth.”

“So was the First Bow.” Takan pointed an accusing finger at Ezril. “Until now.”

Ezril shook his head. “Leave me out of this, brother.” He paused, then added before anyone spoke. “What’s an apostle?”

Darvi’s jaw dropped in surprise. “For the love of Truth, where did you grow up that you don’t know of an apostle.”

“Are you sure you’ve even been in this keep with us?” Takan added. “An apostle is a… An apostle is… I swear by Vayla’s tits I can’t—”

“An apostle is a myth,” Salem cut in. “In this myth there are only twelve of them, representing the twelve cohorts of Tamaron. They answer to no one regardless of their class, and only come together to make decisions in dire times. It is rumored that most of them have at some point in their careers,” he gave Takan and Darvi pointed looks, “been Advocates or Reverends. But as I have said, they are nothing but myths.”

Takan snorted in amusement but changed the topic. “Then what do you think of the prophecy, brother?” he asked. It was funny how ever since Thane had mentioned it no one had spoken of it in their group till this moment, funnier still that it was Takan who brought it up.

Salem sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I think it is the only part of the Credo I cannot come to terms with.”

“Why is that?” Darvi asked, surprised. “It is a significant part of the seminary, dare I say, its foundation.”

Salem observed their brother through narrowed eyes. “The Credo teaches that only the dead know the end. But a man tells of the end and, because he is held in esteem, we believe him?” He shook his head. “Prophecies are for the Tainted and Scorned, brother. A heathen practice that holds no truth, regardless of who speaks it. The only way Tamaron would’ve succeeded in such a thing is if he was Tainted. After all, only Vayla has enough nin to execute such an impossibility as looking beyond life without dying.” He scowled. “The Credo teaches so. And it is so.”

“So you do not believe Brandis was the chosen one?” Takan asked flatly. “That’s the question. The seminary already believes he was the one spoken of in Tamaron’s prophecy.”

Salem frowned. “That is debatable, brother. Brandis was a great man, so great even that the rumors at one point thought he was Tainted. However, the rumors were just the voices of the ignorant. A Tainted would not touch Asmidian ore, much less wield a Sunder.” He scoffed. “Brandis was a Hallowed.”

There was a pause. In it Salem thought for a while.

“As for being chosen,” he continued. “He was a great Hallowed, perhaps chosen by Truth. But he was no prophesy. And he will not return. Not to save us all, or to lead us to Truth.”

Takan raised a finger. “But you forget, brother, he was dying at the hand of a Tainted, but his faith in the Credo was so strong that he reached from beyond the hold of the Tainted’s magic to speak a truth he had seen. I would not say it was a prophecy from Truth, but you cannot refuse that it was something, brother.”

Salem sighed. “Whatever Tamaron saw,” he said, his voice dismissive. “It was a lie.”

Darvi observed Salem a while. “Then the seminary stands on a lie?”

Salem shrugged, melancholic, and gave no reply.

Ezril never cared for the prophecy. He hadn’t known of it before joining the seminary and, had he not met Father Thane, he was certain he never would have. But if a man like Brandis saw it and said it, he believed it would bear a truth to it.

What do you care? he asked himself. You have no interest in the Credo either.

“A time will come when the wickedness of man will grow,” Olufemi said in Vrail. “When the Tainted and Scorned will say to their gods ‘give us strength’ and in the absence of an answer they will call on the nin of Vayla, twisting and corrupting it, and wreak havoc on the souls of the dead, ripping Vayla’s gifts from her bosom.

“When that time comes, they will challenge the children of Truth and pour their magic out before them, and even the Hallowed will feel powerless. But when the chosen returns, he will bring upon them the wrath of Truth, and scorch them from the sight of men. And in time, Truth will receive his children in open arms.”

Darvi turned to the brother in confusion. “That was…”

“So you can think up such things, brother,” Takan said, impressed.

Salem frowned. “He didn’t think it up. It is the original words of Tamaron before he died. It is supposed to be forgotten, lost in time to its translation into the Alduin tongue. At least that is what the records say.” His attention swiveled to Olufemi, his voice suspicious. “Where did you learn it, brother?”

Olufemi said nothing. His silence returned as loud as thunder.

Takan turned to Salem, “And if it is so special and lost, how do you know it?” he asked, his voice as suspicious as Salem’s. “You can know it but no one else can? I reckon you save your suspicions for yourself, brother.”

Ezril laughed. It echoed in the hall. He was the only one, and it made it odd, awkward even.

“And what is so amusing, brother?” Darvi asked, puzzled.

Ezril’s laugh faded to a smile. “I just never thought we’d ever speak of such things again,” he answered. “Not without Unkuti to give it life.”

Again, their moods soured a little.

“He wanted to be your friend,” Darvi said after a moment’s pause. “You know that, right?”

Ezril shrugged. “He was my brother.”

“Yes. But he wanted to be your friend, as Olufemi is.”

“I know,” Ezril admitted.

“Then why did you not treat him as one?”

The memory of the kennel rose in Ezril’s mind. Unkuti’s offer loomed for a while as well as his brother’s discontent when Shade chose him. Ezril shook his head. “I didn’t want the friendship he offered.”

“And what was so wrong with his friendship?” Takan asked.

Unkuti’s words rose in Ezril’s head, dripping with the same desire as it once had: “Njord will not be coming back anytime soon…Maybe you can finish what the girl at the bar started.”

Ezril banished the thoughts. “I had enough brothers I could call friends in my life. I didn’t want another.”

“Does Olbi’s sister know?” Darvi asked suddenly, changing the topic.

Ezril noted Salem’s expression. The soft lantern glow accentuated his brother’s jaw line now riddled with stubbles. When Salem spoke, his tone was bland.

“Sister Cren is a sister of the convent, and Brother Olbi was a brother of the seminary. There would’ve been no reason to inform her of his death.”

Somehow the answer made perfect sense. Even though it shouldn’t have.

“So…” Takan began with a grin, his attention on Ezril. “How is Priestess Ellenel doing?”

They could always trust him to switch topics to such things.

Ezril looked at him balefully. “Takan.”

Takan wiggled his brows. “Yes.”

“Shut up.”

“Is that a blush I see, brother?” Salem laughed. “I didn’t think you capable.”

“You’re wrong,” Ezril replied, leaning away from Olufemi who leaned closer for a view. “I’m not flushed.”

“Olufemi would say different,” Darvi said.

Olufemi shook his head, and smiled. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

“No need to be embarrassed, brother,” Takan told him. “She’s a fine thing, if you look past the bow and the punishments… I saw it once, y’know.”

Ezril winced at the memory of the pain of being shot with blunt arrows.

Darvi laughed. “That bad, huh?”

“Bad?!” Takan repeated, incredulous. “She shot him with arrows.”

Salem winced at the words.

“Did she also teach you to do this?” Darvi waved towards the darkness. “Aim in the dark.”

Ezril nodded.

“Does she know you can see better than most in the dark?”

Ezril shook his head. “She had me aim in blindfolds.” He shrugged. “So it didn’t matter.”

“Well it’s good to have the First Bow in our group,” Takan noted. Then he frowned.

“What is it now, brother?” Darvi asked.

Takan’s frown deepened. “Did you hear about Baltar’s team?” he said. “They finished their test in two days.”

“They also lost a brother,” Salem added.

“The Tainted decided to fight instead of run,” Darvi told them. “Brother Xarfiz succumbed to one of their magicks. They say he turned on them. They did what they had to.” He frowned.

Salem watched him. “That frown isn’t for them, is it, brother?”

Takan shrugged. “I’m sure it has something to do with why he wanted my head during the test.”

“He was a Hallowed.” Darvi’s voice was barely above a whisper. Ezril had heard him, but he doubted the others had.

“What?” Salem asked.

Darvi was silent, and when they thought he would not answer, he said, “The man I fought was not Tainted. He was Hallowed.”

Takan turned to him, confused. “Are you certain?”

Darvi nodded. “He fought like one.” As if knowing it would not suffice for an explanation, he added, “He knew the step.”

A silence loomed over them, bearing down on their gathering.

Olufemi broke it in Vrail.

“The test is done,” he said. “You should forget it.”

Darvi’s frown dimmed. “You’re right, brother,” he replied in vrail. “It has been a month; I should forget it.”

Salem shrugged. “They lie to us.”

“How?” Darvi asked, the small frown still on his lips.

“The Hallowed step,” he answered. “Every Hallowed can do it, but it’s not something easily done. Thirty strides back and forth in four steps is not simple but…” He pointed at Olufemi. “He did it in three…” His attention turned to Ezril. “And he did it in two.”

Takan frowned. Apparently, he didn’t like the detail. “Your point, brother?”

“The priests have always lied to us. It’s not something that should surprise us.”

“Four.” Ezril said.

Salem looked at him. “What?”

“Four,” he repeated. “I did it in four.”

There was silence. Salem waved Ezril’s words aside. “You fainted before the test was over and woke after three weeks, brother. I doubt you remembered anything, including how you did it.”

Ezril turned to Olufemi, confused. “I did it in four, right?” he asked in Vrail.

Olufemi shook his head.

How?

Ezril thought of the test. No memory of it came, only the pain he had felt in each stride. The sound he wasn’t certain, even now, he had made. The warmth he had felt at the end.

Nothing else.

“…Why?” Salem was asking when Ezril’s attention returned to his brothers.

“Because I get to learn more ways to kill a Tainted,” Takan said, “and I’ll get to fight more than the rest of you.”

Salem shook his head. “You do not have to worry about finding fights, brother. War is coming.” His attention turned to Darvi. “And you?”

Darvi shrugged. “Advocate.”

“Are you looking for a fight, too, brother?”

“No,” Darvi answered, dismissing the idea with a wave. “I want to be a Reverend, and it’s the fastest way.”

Takan laughed and turned to Salem. “What of you, brother?” he asked. “How do you wish to serve the seminary?”

Salem shrugged. “I’ll be an Exorcist.”

Their surprise was profound, mirrored perfectly in the shocked silence.

“An Exorcist?” Darvi asked, confused.

Ezril watched the lantern, hoping his brothers wouldn’t notice his absence of shock

Takan shook his head violently, as if doing so would change Salem’s words. “Why?” he asked, incredulous. “I always reckoned you’d be a polymath. Y’know, boring the next generation half to death with your words… Like Father Thane.”

Salem gave an unperturbed shrug.

“…And you, brother?”

Ezril rose his head to find Darvi looking at him.

“What will you be?”

Ezril shrugged. He’d always thought of the answer to that question and knew it. He wanted a chance to go back home and see Aunt Teneri… if she still lived.

“An Evangelist,” he said.

“Why?”

“I’ve been in one place for too long,” he answered, then turned his gaze to Olufemi.

“Evangelist,” Olufemi said. He made it sound as though it was the most logical choice.

“I wonder what Olbi would have chosen…” Takan mused. “Or Raylin.”

“… Or Unkuti,” Salem added.

Darvi’s expression dulled. “…Or Alric.”

The events of the winter test floated into Ezril’s mind. He grit his teeth, and bit back a response. Apparently, even dead, he would never forgive Alric for what the boy had tried to do.

A moment of silence later, Salem rose from the ground. He reached for the lantern. “I think we’ve been out too long, brothers,” he said. “I doubt we’d want Father Talod having a reason for one last flogging.”

The others rose with him, following the light from the lantern. Takan dusted his cloak. “I doubt any of you plan to sleep tonight, considering…”

“We know,” Darvi told him.

Salem blew out the lantern and waited as Ezril made his way to the front of the group.

“We’re counting on you to lead the way, brother,” Darvi said, then gave his shoulder a pat.

Ezril laughed. “Don’t worry, brother. I’ll be our eyes. We won’t get caught.” The moon was nowhere to be seen in the night sky, but the stars littered it like children out to play.

“Just putting this out there, y’know,” Takan whispered as they moved. “But I reckon I’d rather not be punished a night before my ordination.”