Free The Cor Chronicles: Volume 02 - Fire and Steel by Martin V. Parece II Page B

enough.”
    At Cor’s prodding, Rael explained his reliving as well as he understood it. He remembered being one with Dahk, part of a great sea of blood that went as far as one could see. He was suddenly expelled from that sea and returned to life. He could barely recall, as if from a dream, a voice telling him he was not yet meant to die, that he still had purpose. He remembered nothing else clearly; memories of a life that once was flashed through his mind unbidden and in a confusing jumble. However, when Cor spoke his name, they returned all at once, clear and ordered.
    Rael awoke in the crypt that Cor had made for him, and he remembered collecting a number of items that were entombed with him - a sword, shield and armor mostly. The door opened easily enough, but his exit was half blocked by rock and earth. It was the work of several hours for Rael to move enough detritus out of the way to climb out of the crypt and stand amongst the caved in remains of Sanctum. Through some amazing bit of luck, or perhaps some form of divine providence, several of the crypts including his had been spared by the destruction, but most had been flattened or buried, their history and treasures lost.
    Climbing out of the huge crater had been work worthy of a titan. Nearly every bit of ground Rael climbed created a landslide, several of which threatened to take him. It took two slow and arduous days to reach the mouth of pit, and his muscles ached from the constant, painstaking exertion. Many of his fingernails were cracked, torn off and bleeding from his efforts to hold onto the smallest amount of purchase. From there, he simply walked east, eventually picking up a road and followed it until he found Cor. He had no recollection of where he had gotten the cloak or what he had eaten over the days or weeks since his reawakening.
    “If not to lead the Dahken, why has Dahk restored you?” Cor asked him.
    “I was never a leader Cor. Of course, there’s never been many Dahken to lead, and I claimed the title of Lord Dahken only to make certain the line went unbroken,” Rael explained. “You however. You led a group of children through a heavily fortified border and seem to have gained their trust and loyalty. I can see no better Lord Dahken.”
    “You still haven’t answered my question,” Cor insisted.
    “I believe I am here to train the Dahken.”
    “Then tonight I will pray to Dahk and thank him,” Thyss interjected, “I was not enjoying the prospect of standing around for twenty years while Cor raised his Dahken brood. I may just have thrown myself from the castle ramparts.”
    “Really? I’d have thought you would just run off with someone more interesting,” Cor retorted. Thyss’ eyes flashed angrily for a moment, but then cooled leaving only an enigmatic smile on her face.
    “I don’t think you appreciate what had to occur for Dahken Rael to return to Rumedia,” she said. “I have had some dealings with my own gods, and they do not interfere with the mortal world lightly or easily. To outright resurrect one who is dead would have required an extreme expenditure of power on Dahk’s part.”
    “He’s a god.”
    “Such a Western thought that the gods are all powerful. Dahken Cor, they are not, and it is likely that Dahk will not intrude into our world again for years for his trouble. Think on that,” she replied.
    “What happened Rael? How did Jonn kill you?” Cor asked. After a short silent moment in which it became clear that Rael was not going to answer, Cor continued. “When he knew I was going to kill him, he used the same magic, and I walked right through it. Everything I read about Dahken said we were immune to such power.”
    Rael sighed. “I am honestly unsure. To say Dahken are immune may be a slight exaggeration, but mostly accurate. I had only once before faced Garod’s power, and in that instance I prevailed. I am afraid my death was necessary at the time for you to truly become Dahken