Ontogeny

Chapter 7a

     The men were glum and in low spirits as they continued on their way south. Their force had been reduced by four men, one of them permanently, and the remainder felt the loss keenly. What banter there was, when they stopped to sleep and eat their meals, was reduced almost to nothing and they made their way through the trackless hills and valleys in an uncomfortable silence that was broken only by the sighing of the wind and the lonely cries of solitary wild animals.

     It was with great relief that they eventually left Radiant territory, five days after their encounter with the demon, and shortly after that they came across a road with signposts in the language of Arago, a country few of them were familiar with. They took a detour to the north to avoid the most densely populated region of the country, in the hopes of avoiding notice by the authorities who might have detained them for an unknown length of time while they quizzed the foreign soldiers about their business in their land, but although they did see the occasional small Aragon patrol they weren’t bothered by them. Arago had generally good relations with Helberion, mainly due to the fact that they lacked a common border, and the only contact they had with each other were the merchant caravans that carried trade between them along the Spice Road.

     The climate was warmer here, several hundred miles south and west of their homelands, and the land was considerably drier as well. The hills were brown with dead grass, and the shrubs that lined the roads bore wicked spines to deter whatever grazing animals might have been tempted by their waxy leaves. The people wore brightly coloured clothes and were surrounded by an exotic, spicy smell that seemed to rise up out of the very ground. The men grumbled and complained as they ate the foreign food and drank the syrupy sweet local beverages, but the Brigadier was pleased by the progress they were making. If not for the losses they had taken, their short cut through Radiant territory would have been an unqualified success.

     On the southern horizon, a line of mountainous peaks were just visible in the dusty haze, and the Brigadier told them that they were the northernmost extremities of the Uttermost Range, the mighty mountain range that marked the southern edge of human knowledge. The sight of it cheered the men, even the Brigadier himself, even though their destination still lay many hundreds of miles further to the west, and their conversation had returned almost to normal when they stopped for their midday meal by the banks of a huge, nameless river whose far bank was almost too far away to see.

     “Have you ever been this far from home before?” Malone asked the Brigadier as the carcass of a large river herbivore turned on a spit above their camp fire.

     “Never,“ replied the Brigadier without looking up from polishing the buckles of his uniform. “I know this region by reputation only. I once travelled with a group of traders who came from Mekrol. They told me everything I know of this place, so I can only hope they were telling me the truth. Not simply spinning tales for the gullible northerner. It was they who first told me of Parcellius, the great sage and master of ancient knowledge, although I later heard of him from other sources, so we can have some hope that he, at least, is based on truth. He is said to live in the great city of Barag Tull where he is the court wizard to the Empress Jaxia himself.”

     “I’ve heard of Barag Tull,” said Harper nervously. “They say it’s a city of cannibals and demon worshippers, that those who enter are never seen again except for their skulls that adorn the city walls.”

     “And I heard that the Empress was adopted by Radiants," said Zpencer, "and that she lived among them long enough to gain their powers before returning to retake her throne. They say that she now uses her Radiant powers to enforce a reign of terror over the city.”

     “Fanciful tales always grow up around little known, far off places,” said the Brigadier, putting his jacket aside and turning to the brass adorning the raised peak of his cap. “I expect they have equally imaginative tales regarding Helberion, if they’ve even heard of the place. They’ll just be people, little different from us. With their own customs and traditions doubtless, but with the same hopes and ambitions as anyone else.”