The Wife and the Son

There plan had worked. The green temporary mist that they created had destroyed most of Ulicoth's massive army. But it failed to reach inside the mountains and fortress of Ulicoth, for he sealed them off. The Dark Lord had other troops inside the mountains, and fortress and in other lands, but the alliance could match their numbers, which meant that they were left in stalemate.

The alliance members were now making their way back to the Magical World, as the Wizards and Witches like to call their land.

Delsani and Prince Bacnil, however, were not with them, for Bacnil had been wounded in the battle and kept it hidden from the others. He did not want to miss out on anything and held until the mist had killed most of Ulicoth's creatures, but then collapsed. He needed to be tended at the Towers of Telian, as Delsani wished to get back as soon as possible, and as Bacnil had not given permission that he could be Phazed back. Delsani took the young Prince on Avelan's horse, as she was the swiftest and most steadfast.

The Wolf Demala went with them and kept up to the horse's speed with ease. Delsani knew that Demala could out run the horse easily but he was holding back to stay with them.

With the speed of Edel, it only took them hours and not days to reach the Magical World. And then they were at the towers in a matter of minutes. There were Ves-guards there to meet them as they rode up the path, and they carefully took Prince Bacnil, with Demala following the young Prince.

Delsani ran as fast as he could to see how Helen was. He did not know what he was going to say to her. That thought hadn't even crossed his mind until that moment.

However, as he was about to stretch out his hand to open the vault room door that he, John and Helen had taken before, it opened, and the Grand Wizard, Jaucal, came through.

"I see you've returned," said Jaucal.

"I'm sorry I took so long, but Prince Bacnil was wounded, and as I had commandeered the fastest horse, I had to bring him with me. Besides, I thought it best not to Phaze. I thought it would be better to let Ulicoth think that his plan had succeeded."

"Yes, that would be for the best for sure, though unfortunately I can say that Ulicoth now knows all, but it was good of you to play it safe."

"Have you told Helen? Have you told her of John's death?" said Delsani slowly.

"No, she hasn't been informed. I wanted to leave it as long as possible. For at that time I thought the poor woman had been through enough."

"We can only keep it from her as long as it takes the others to return," said Delsani. "And keeping it from her may make matters far worse than they already are. I think the time has come to tell all."

Jaucal nodded slightly. "You are right, my friend. The time has come to tell all."

Delsani looked at him with wonder. "Did you know John would die?" he asked doubtfully. In truth he was not sure whether he wanted the answer to his question.

"No," replied Jaucal truthfully. "If I knew then what I know now. The battle of Kealhal wouldn't have happened."

"Then how did you know, and what do you know?" asked Delsani curiously.

"I knew that John had died, because when it happened, I felt it," said Jaucal.

And with that reply, Delsani had noticed that Jaucal now looked worn and older than he remembered. "His pain was so strong. And when I felt it drift away, I knew. I knew that he was lost to us," said Jaucal grievously. "And as for what I know now, well when I first sensed John's pain, I accidentally dropped one of the books that I was setting back onto the bookcase in my office. Some pieces of parchment fell out of it, and when I bent down to pick them up, I saw that the two sheets of the parchment were the measurements of the parchment of the Prophecies and the piece of parchment that had John's name on it. One sheet had been written by Dragdani shortly after writing the prophecies purely for reference; the other was written shortly after John's name was found for the same reason. And when I put the two sheets together, I saw that the two measurements taken for the parchment that had John's name were different. So I went down to the vault and checked the parchment. I used the Histatia spell to see if it had been tampered with. It took a great deal of tampering, but I found that it had been. Someone had taken away one of the simple protection spells and hadn't stopped there, for there I also saw that the culprit had tried to take away the other protection spells as well. However, he was unsuccessful, for only the spell concealing the name had been lifted.

"I then used the same spell on the vault itself, which was not easy, as you can imagine. I was lucky for the culprit had covered their tracks sloppily. Delsani, it was Noesod." Delsani was shocked to hear this name. For Noesod was the last person that he thought would have betrayed them, and especially the last person who would betray John or try to hurt Helen. "I know how you must feel, for I was as stunned at what I saw. And as you know those spells do not lie," said Jaucal.

"What else did you see?" asked Delsani hastily.

"I saw that he tore off part of the parchment and put it in his pocket. Then I knew John was dead, for I could no longer sense his pain, and it was then that I realized that John was not the one. There had to be another heir to Dragdani, and then I knew that Helen was with child, and if Noesod saw the name, she and the unborn child were in danger. I sent for the guards and sent some to find Noesod. The other guards I took to John and Helen's room, and there to my dismay we found Noesod standing over Helen, who was lying unconscious on the floor. Noesod just stood there with his wand pointing down at her. His hands were shaking wildly. Then he turned his head and begged me to stop him.

I acted immediately, sending him across the room into the wall. I ordered the guards to take Helen to the infirmary and not to leave her unguarded. And then I went over to Noesod who was lying on the ground. His eyes were wide open, and a smile had come across his face, one that I'll never forget. Then he laughed and said, "Soon. I'll find him soon.' the voice was not Noesod's; it was dark and foul. Then a purple vapour began to drift from his mouth and his breathing stopped. I tried to revive him but it was no use. I found the missing piece of parchment. And I joined it back on to the page," said Jaucal. He took the page out of his pocket and handed it to Delsani.

When Delsani opened it, it read:

Peter John Stark

"Now if you're satisfied with my answers, we should really go and tell Helen what his happened and all that we know," said Jaucal.

"Yes," said Delsani anxiously, dreading the thought of having to remember and tell everything that had happened. But he knew that she had to be told, and there was no one else who could explain it all. He took a step forward, but was stopped by Jaucal who said, "Why go the long way?" He put out his right hand and a long sceptre appeared. The sceptre was auburn except for the very bottom tip, which was silver. The top was also silver and it was in the form of the design on Dragdani's belt buckle, a Dragons claw holding a coloured orb. It began to glow with a blue light, and the tighter he held, it the brighter it became. Delsani took hold of Jaucal's arm and they both appeared at the foot of Helen's bed in the infirmary.

A week had past in Dorminya since Helen had been told of John's fate, and in all that time she refused to receive any visitors or even interact with anyone at all. She stayed in her room in the tower lying on the bed sobbing into her pillows. However, today she knew that she would have to go and say her final goodbyes to John, for today they were holding a service for the Wizards and Witches who died at the battle of Kealhal. The service was also being held for most of the royal family of Rulouvge, meaning that one survived the massacre. Bacnil's ten-year-old cousin, Hadnim, was now his only living relative. The service was also for the Dwarves of the Werferd Mountains who were also killed be Kilamen as pay back for what happened at Kealhal.

The Dwarf Lord Eiaten broke off all contact and communication with the other races after that. He had lost half of his family in the destruction of his father's mines and was trying to prepare himself for an attack.

The Wizards and Witches were also making ready, for they also feared retaliation. But Ulicoth had no intention of attacking them, for he had made his point. Those that were closest to them would suffer for any further defiance. And he had the bonus that the Wizards would be blamed for all of the deaths and the mistrust of the Men and Dwarves. And he was right, for the Men, like the Dwarves, did not want anything more to do with the Wizards or Witches. However Bacnil trusted them, and kept the alliance with the Wizards, Witches and Elves, for like his new friends, he knew that at that moment Ulicoth was starting to rebuild everything that he had lost. And Bacnil believed that when he was ready. The unborn child of John and Helen Stark would one day lead them to destroy Ulicoth, and most importantly to him, Kilamen. For the thought of avenging his family was the only thing that was keeping him going, but it would not consume him, for he would be patient and wait for his day to come. But for now, like others, he was getting ready for the service.