Page 144 of Of Empires and Dust

“No.” Tivar shook her head, answering swiftly. “Not at all. That is not a cowardly act. It is the act of someone who is tired, someone who sees no path forward and can carry the weight no longer, but it is not cowardly. Your cowardice lies not in that choice but in your unwillingness to stand now, to make a choice not because you will be lauded for it or because others will look upon you differently, but because you know it is right. You taught me that.” Tears glistened in Tivar’s eyes. “When I was only an apprentice. Do you remember?”

“I remember.”

“I can never right the wrongs I’ve done. I will never wipe the stain from my soul. I will never be the hero I always dreamt of being. But I can be something.” Tivar stood, looking out over the ledge. “It is never too late to make the right choice. Never. When Coren and Farwen reach this city, they will pass judgement. And if they judge that I am to live, I will give every drop of blood in my veins to fight the darkness we created. Because it is the right thing to do. I will give my life for the people of Epheria. Not those who sit on thrones or stand on the parapets of the highest castles, but those who want only life and peace and love. Because that is all I’ve ever tried to do, all I’ve ever wanted to do. And I will guide Calen Bryer and teach him to not make the same mistakes I did, because he has greatness in him. He has a hero’s heart. I know because he stirred mine. And if they sentence me to die for what I have done, I will accept that too. Because what is right comes before my desires.”

Tivar stepped away from the cliff edge and walked slowly towards the opening in the rock that led back to the main chambers. “Your eyes are open now, Farda. Your cowardice lies in your refusal to face the things you’ve done and stand anyway. The man I knew would never see what is coming and leave the rest of us alone to face it without him. I know you’re in pain, and if you face everything that you are and decide that in your heart you think it is the right time to join Shinyara, I will stand beside you and I will help you pass. But if instead you choose to stand and be counted, to once again fight for the right reasons, then I will stand beside you in that as well. You will not be redeemed, nor will I. That is not possible. But you can still do good in this world. That is why Shinyara would not allow you to cross. Because she knows you are a better man than to leave us alone in this. She knows that the man who taught me what kindness was deserves better than to leave the world this way. Whatever your choice, do not make it alone. I will always be here.”

Tivar’s footsteps echoed through the passage as she left, and then Farda sat in silence.

Those were the first words to pass between them since they’d been taken prisoner. She’d left her chambers to sleep next to Avandeer and little else.

Farda leaned forwards and stood. He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. The drop looked to be over a thousand feet, nothing but trees visible below, illuminated by the shared light of the Blood Moon and the evening sun.

The wind howled, whipping at him as he stared down.

He reached into his pocket and produced the thick gold coin he’d carried for hundreds of years. He ran his thumb across the worn crown face and nicks in the metal before turning it over and doing the same to the other side.

To live or die. To finally rest or to stand one last time.

Farda drew a long breath, then flicked the coin into the air.

He watched its flight, watched it glint in the yellow and red. And then, as the coin started its downward arc, he turned and walked away.

He never heard it land. It would have taken a while to hit the bottom.

As he walked, a part of him swore that he once again heard Shinyara roar in the back of his mind, his heart skipping a beat, his hairs standing on end.

One last fight, my love. If they let me. I promise you.

Chapter 33

Sureheart

12thDay of the Blood Moon

Aravell – Winter, Year 3081 After Doom

The forest airsmelled of ash and burnt leather. Charred twigs and brittle blackened grass snapped beneath the weight of Dann’s boots, the sound drowned out by the ceaseless rhythm of thousands ahead and behind.

The army marched down the wide channel the Dragonguard had torched through the Darkwood. Most of the bodies had been cleared or ‘taken’ by the forest, as Lyrei had put it. Images of the Aldithmar flashed across his mind: the long, bark-covered limbs, the black smoke that drifted from their broken bodies, the pulsing white eyes.

He stared into the dark-obscured forest on his left, the blended rays of the sun and moon pushing only a few feet inwards before being swallowed by the shadows. Shapes moved in the dark, subtle shifts of light and space. More than once,Dann caught a glimpse of misting white eyes staring back. He wasn’t sure if he preferred it this way or not. Having an illuminated path through the woodland was definitely better than trekking through the darkness by baldírlight. But at least the last time he’d come through the Darkwood he’d only had a feeling he was being watched. Now he knew, and he knew what watched him.

His heart stopped for a fleeting second as a pair of glowing white eyes appeared at the edge of the trees, staring at him. More eyes flickered into existence. They didn’t move, just watched. They wanted him to know they were there. After a moment, the eyes vanished, dissipating into nothingness.

He gave an involuntary shiver, and beside him Drunir snorted, shaking his head.

“What are you snorting at?” Dann glared at the horse, patting his muzzle. “You barely even saw them the last time. You galloped off like a chicken shit and left me behind.”

The horse snorted again.

If Dann didn’t know any better, he’d think Drunir was laughing at him.

A particularly sharp snap sounded beneath his feet, and he looked down to see his armoured boot had cracked straight through the blackened shin bone of a charred corpse. His gaze instantly shifted to the corpse’s head. Torn flesh dangled from a half-blackened skull where animals and birds had feasted on the burnt remains. He yanked his foot free and staggered backwards, his heart beating like a hammer.

“This place is a graveyard.” Tarmon appeared at Dann’s side, staring down at the charred corpse.

Dann looked around the clearing. Human and elven remains were scattered amidst pools of melted steel and the husks of burnt-out trees. Memories of that night raced through his mind. The battle had been fierce and bloody, but when the dragonfirehad poured through the canopy, the world had turned to nothing but chaos. The screams rang in his ears: the howls and shrieks of the souls being burned alive. He watched in his mind’s eye as the Fade’s black fire washed over Alea, as its sword punched into Baldon’s chest.

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