It had been nine years since that fateful day when the
two Lupe brothers had fainted. The doctors of Sahkmet had been surprised when
Coltzan nearly jumped out of his daze, with seemingly no memory of what had
happened. The doctors asked him what had caused this, but Coltzan could only
say he didn’t know. A thorough check-up revealed there was no physical damage
at all to Coltzan, and he was finally allowed to return to the New Year’s festival.
In Meridell, when Luparn had woken up, the same
way as Coltzan, the doctor was amazed, Sarkif was relieved, and Lady Arina cried
and hugged Luparn nearly to death. And so life in Meridell had continued on,
except that Sarkif had sternly told Luparn that he was to never mention this
incident and to keep his mouth shut about any of his dreams.
But the dreams never went away. Each night, the
same dream would come back to him-- blurry at first, but as the years passed,
the images became sharper. He and someone named Coltzan would meet an exasperated
dark Faerie, who would take them up to the palace of the Faerie Queen in a chariot
driven by two Unis. They were brought before the Faerie Queen, who would tell
them that he and Coltzan were long lost brothers and show the two a vivid map
of how to get from a place called the Lost Desert to Meridell.
Then the dream started to change after a few
years. In the ninth year after the incident, the Faerie Queen began to say,
“And on the first day of the tenth year, the long lost will be finally found.”
Then the dream would end. One other peculiar thing about the dreams happened:
Luparn was starting to remember them.
Other than this, life was normal. The peasants
brought their arguments and requests to Luparn, now Lord Luparn since Sarkif
had given him half of his land once he had come of age. He solved each problem,
and the peasants were peaceful.
On this particular day, Luparn was sitting in
his small castle with absolutely nothing to do, when there was a sharp rapping
at the door. “Come in,” came Luparn’s dull reply.
The door swung open, and in walked in Mahsije
the Gelert messenger. “I have a message for you, my lord.”
“Who sent it?” asked Luparn, taking the rolled-up
parchment and beginning to open it.
“I do not know,” replied Mahsije. “It came from
the castle of Mordeo, with instructions that it be brought to you.”
Mahsije started to leave, when Luparn spoke up.
“Mahsije, can you bring me Merlod?” asked the Lupe.
“Certainly, my lord,” bowed Mahsije, and he left.
A few minutes later, a knock at the door came, and in walked Merlod, the Aisha
sorcerer, with his purple cloak, patched and frayed, and his hefty wooden staff.
“You called for me?” asked the Aisha.
Luparn nodded. “You see,” he explained, “I’ve
been having strange dreams lately. The dreams say that I have a twin brother
named Coltzan, that I will meet him, and that the faeries will help me. My father
Sarkif says that I have no twin, which is odd when my dreams tell me I do, and
now I’ve gotten this message written in some foreign language. Can you decipher
it?”
Luparn gave the parchment to Merlod, who glanced
at it and said, “I don’t know what it is, but I know who can tell you.”
“Who?” asked an anxious Luparn.
“A Kau seer named Kithar,” replied the old Aisha.
Luparn gasped. “But Merlod,” he said, “to be
a seer is forbidden, to visit and consult one is also forbidden, and if Mordeo
finds out, the punishment is death!”
“Oh, come,” chuckled Merlod. “Pack your things.
I’ve already made sure that Mordeo won’t even know we’re gone.”
Luparn raised an eyebrow. “What measures have
you taken?” he asked.
Merlod smiled greatly. Whatever he had done,
he had obviously taken great pleasure from it. “Well,” said Merlod, grinning
from ear to ear. “If you had purple spots on your face, oversized ears, a thinner
stomach, spotted bumps on your legs, and half your bones missing, you’d be busy
with the doctors, too.”
***
Far to the south of Meridell lay the Rocky Shires, a place with many rocky
canyons that were hospitable to few. The rocks were gray, the few plants were
brown, and everything here had a sense of gloom and desolation. However, there
was a cave here. Like the rest of the caves, it wasn’t a very exciting cave,
but it was enough to live in -- barely, though. Kithar the Kau seer lived in
this cave, and it was no surprise to her when her friend Merlod showed up with
Lord Luparn, even though no one else lived in the Rocky Shires and hiking through
the Shires was a difficult task, and certainly an extremely difficult one for
an elderly Aisha well beyond his years of hiking.
“Ah, Merlod and Lord Luparn, what a pleasant
surprise,” she greeted with a twinkle in her eyes. “What guidance do you require?”
Luparn and Merlod sat down on a couple of wooden chairs, while Kithar sat on
a stool.
“Well,” Merlod began. “We have a message which
we need you to translate with your vast knowledge.” Merlod handed Kithar the
parchment. She studied it for a moment, and then looked up mystically, like
all Kau seers do, and smiled.
“What does it mean?” asked Luparn.
Kithar answered, “This message is the script
of the faeries, and it is the writing of Queen Valis of Faerieland. What is
happening the faeries know, and Faerie law forbids me to tell you the translation
of the message. What it all means -- the Incident, the Dreams, and the Message
-- is that you do in fact have a brother named Coltzan III, who is right now
about to be crowned King of the Lost Desert. It also means that your father
is deathly afraid for your life, and--“
“My father?” Luparn said. “Are you speaking of
Lord Sarkif?”
The Kau seer shook her head grimly. “Lord Sarkif
is not your father… nor is Lady Arina your mother. Your true parents were once
great rulers… and now they are simple peasants.”
Luparn gasped in great shock and slowly looked
down in dismay, truly saddened by this truth. Merlod was touched by Luparn’s
sudden realization and had a tear in his eye. “Sarkif… he never told me?” trembled
Luparn. “He-- he has lied to me for 20 years….”
“For your own good. If Mordeo had found out,
you would have been executed quicker than you can say ‘feudalism.’ Anyway, you
can’t see your father or mother for the moment, but you should see your brother
soon.”
“When can I go?” asked Luparn.
“‘I?’ There is no ‘I.’ Merlod and I will go with
you for protection. You will be in great danger.”
Luparn muttered to himself, “That’s what everyone
says in these kinds of stories.”
Kithar gave him an unsatisfied look.
“Well, it’s true,” shrugged Luparn.
Kithar spoke again, “Luparn, stop complaining,
and take your sword with you…. I know that this will be more than just a family
reunion… and I know what you’re going to say about that, so don’t start complaining
again….”
To be continued...
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