32 The Warlord Japeth

"Who are you?" Krevik asked as his mother stood beside him.

She reached out and held his hand. "I am Asvoria. Wife of King Izmirlian. Mother of Emir and Isadar. "

"Mother of Emir?" Krevik questioned. "True, I did not give birth to him." She smiled sweetly. "But… he is my son none the less. He is a very bright boy don't you think so?"

"How would I know?" asked Krevik.

"Oh, there is no need to stand on ceremony here. Your mother Isadora has brought you to me to help you gain understanding. She said you seemed confused when you saw her last. She is also here to commit an act of betrayal. Is this not correct?" She asked that last question looking at Isadora. Isadora hung her head down. "Don't worry. My ability to see the future is not as strong as Krevik's. It's more of a feeling. I feel the future when I dream."

Krevik remained silent. He tilted his head so slightly it was almost unnoticeable. But Asvoria saw it. She smiled brightly.

"Your mother told you of the origin of our people the last time you met did she not?" Krevik Nodded in answer. There was something about Queen Asvoria that made one want to be silent. He didn't know what it was…a type of reverence she commanded. This was what the presence of royalty was supposed to feel like… wasn't it?

"I am here to tell you about the Crests, and their significance. Isadora who can interact with the dream realm. She will Show you what I speak."

Krevik could not hear all the words spoken by Asvoria. But he could see the images that her story formed through his mother.

*=*=*

A long time ago there was a very powerful dreamer. So powerful he could dream of the future. Only the most powerful dreamers ever see the future. What he saw horrified him. There was to be a powerful warlord, this warlord would control the people with fear. The more they feared him the stronger he would be. He was a creature born from nightmares. This powerful dreamer saw that the warlord could only be defeated by an Ametian. The dreams would need to be two things. One would be a Crest of Love, born from all the love that the Ametians were capable of and most especially the love that was there since the beginning. This crest would show itself with great love. And the other would be a Crest of Power, born from the fear this warlord would cause. Because the second Crest was born from the fear this warlord would cause, it would only show itself with a betrayal.

The dreaming man pulled the crests out of the very core of his dreams. He placed them into his bloodline to appear at such a time when they became needed. The prophecy of the two crests was passed down among the Ametians. It was so well known among the Ametians that even those who were not Ametian had heard of it.

The Warlord Japeth rose from his origins, and struck fear into the heart of the people. He too had heard of the crests, and he knew only an Ametian could call it forth. So he hunted the Ametians. He thought that he had wiped them all out; He thought there were none who could defeat him. He was wrong.

Some Ametians survived. The Crests were able to find their way into the world once more. Japeth was defeated, but not completely. He was only locked away. Over time his prison weakened. He was able to persuade a man to let him marry his daughter. They lived happily, until she realized who he was. Knowing he could not go far from his prison, she escaped. But she was pregnant. She did not want the child of Japeth, but she could not bring herself to harm a child that had not yet done any harm. Shortly after a girl was born, Japeth's wife passed from this life. She was attacked in the forest.

The baby girl survived. She was named Esmiralda. The king's son Izmirlian fell in love with her. They were soon married. Esmiralda died in childbirth. But she gave the king a great gift. Out of his love for his queen, he named his son…Emir.

The king married again, to an Ametian woman named Asvoria. Asvoria became a mother to Emir who had lost his own far too soon. And she bore the king a second son named Isadar, named so for his father. Asvoria loved both of her sons. She could see that Isadar would remain forever young in his brother's shadow. And she could see Emir had a deep love that seemed to grow out of him. She helped him to understand that love. And then she showed Emir how to draw the crest from himself. Once drawn, he would be it's sole wielder.

She did not enjoy the fate that would fall upon her sons, but she knew they were what the world needed to defeat the Warlord of nightmares. She made Emir promise to defeat Japeth, and she taught him about dreams. She even showed him ways to keep himself from dreaming. She told him of the other crest. The Crest of Power. She had hidden it in Isadar. She made Emir promise to betray his brother. It was the only way. He promised.

When the tale was done, Queen Asvoria seemed to fade. Now it was just him and his mother. She continued to hold onto him and lead him back down the brocade corridor.

*=*=*

Krevik stopped walking and made his mother stop too.

"There is something that confuses me mother," Krevik said.

"What is it?" Isadora looked at him concerned.

"Emir was able to pull the crest out of himself…." Krevik looked at her pointedly.

"Oh" she sighed. "That. I have wondered the same thing myself. The conclusion I always came to was that somewhere in the king's line there was an Ametian. That got passed down to Emir through him.

"I see," said Krevik. He did not tell her, but he thought it would have been better for her to just say she didn't know.

"I'm friends with him," Isadora said suddenly.

"With whom?" asked Krevik. He feared he already knew the answer.

"With Emir," Isadora replied. "I'm friends with Emir. I didn't intend for it to happen. It happened as a child. I dreamed of a boy. He became my friend. He grew as I did. I saw everything Krevik. I saw it through his eyes. Please trust Emir."

Isadora said that last line almost pleading. She reached around her neck where the Crest of Power lay. She removed it from her neck, and placed it over Krevik's head. He felt the weight of it around his neck.

"When you wake," She said. "It will be there."

Krevik licked his lips trying to think of a way to say what he wanted to. He closed his eyes. "I'm 19," he said as he opened his eyes. He stared into her eyes and repeated. "I'm nineteen years old mother. You will betray him tonight."

Isadora looked at him in wonder. Tears sprang to the corner of her eyes. She was so happy to see him be so old. "You just had a dream Krevik. I'm sleeping next to you in your bed, because you just had a nightmare. You dreamt how I died Krevik. You dream that it happens tomorrow. I must give this to you now. It has lost so much of its power. It needed one last betrayal. This is as much of a betrayal to you as it is to Emir. You felt betrayed did you not? When you were growing up, realizing I never trusted you enough to at least tell you where I had hidden the Crest? In a way, it is a double betrayal. I hope it is enough."

Krevik looked down at her in pain. He knew he was now responsible for her death. The force of the attack that killed her would not have done so if she had been wearing the Crest. This….this was the true betrayal. He needed to keep the Crest.

"I Love you precious boy," his mother said. "Let's finish the walk home together?"

Krevik swallowed his emotions as he had been taught. Held out his arm to her, and walked in silence back to wakefulness.

*=*=*

When Krevik woke, he could not breathe. Something was heavy around his neck. He felt more than heard Jesse walk over to him.

"Krevik!" She must have noticed he wasn't breathing. If she didn't find a way to get air soon he didn't know what he would do.

"Krevik please," Jesse pleaded. She pulled at him and shook him. She seemed desperate. "What is this? He felt her touch the Crest. As she touched it, breath suddenly filled Krevik's lungs. He scrambled out of the Cave as fast as she could. He raced over to one of the bushes nearby, and he threw up.

He knew the reason he could not breathe. It was the guilt of his betrayal. He had truly been the one to spark betrayal. He was responsible for their mother's death. Nothing would ever change that.

It was then that he realized. Betrayal was not something that had to be done to the wielder of the Crest. The Crest could only be born by someone who did the betraying.