“Your highness, he has still not returned nor can be found” Mal stood rigid with arms clasped behind his back, a mere formality but he did it also to hide his fear.
“I understand your brother Jiren is supposedly missing, four months is it?” The king replied absent minded.
“Four months, three weeks and twelve days. We must send a delegation to find him. I pose this to you first, your highness but my proposal will be heard before the War Council tomorrow.” Every Gidean knew the true power in the land of Vastor lay with the War Council and not the monarch of the Silver Crown, whom absent mindedly mended plants on this patio. Mal had known King Dorn before he was crowned, they had both been young and green around the gills as Peers for their mandatory service at the Preservers of Maisk School. Dorn had ever been on different tides, a mind never truly there. Still, his backing could hold weight.
“Elite Commander, your brother, an accomplished Diadem has either died in the Shadowlands of exposure or is yet still alive, doing his job” King Dorn looked up with that statement, was it meant as an insult? Mal didn’t know but his brother must be found! Mal turned and walked from the room, to the deep trench with courtesy!
The rumors coming in from the Order of Shadowlanders and those rare warriors who went to the surface as escort from the Legion of Shiverbane had brought back news Mal knew was important. He also knew his brother was not doing his job, he had been sent to spy out the politics of the land, to make is way from Denpine in the land of Lithe, to Evannar an eastern border town of Torentia where much activity was reported. That border is shared by Eons and Azurians and ever there has been bad blood between them.
After Evannar, his brother was to travel along the trade routes the Azurians use to the land of Ivangar, to Balerno a small town near the pass to the south lands. Gideans know much of the information relayed between the lands passes by Balerno, from there he was to take the Humson Tributary north to the small coastal town of Islesbery. The water would do him good and his own people would not be far in The Misty Isles. Last was to stop at Wolford, that town of the Taloreans had fallen many times, the Taloreans blamed the Sordeans for not helping to keep the town in tact. It was an old rivalry but if the town still stood, news from the Sordeans would be found there.
No Gidean would last more than an hour in the snowy tundra of the land of Numis, they traded with the Sordeans but only at their most eastern town of Carvok Steppe where the resident Invokers kept a platform heated just for the occasion. His brother Jiren knew this information was imperative, he would not just set it aside or expose himself too long and die! Never!
The Shadowlands indeed, a name used since Gideans were first gifted their magic from Maisk. Out of all the races, Gideans were the shortest, they were the strongest with the best senses… but only in water. To a Gidean, the upper land was in perpetual shadows because their vision was so poor; hence the nickname of Shadowlands. His brother had trained and been found to have exceptional healing magic and earned the rank of Diadem, he had trained for years to be able withstand the shadowlands. Mal had been found to be warrior instead of healer, different paths for twin brothers.
Twins are a rarity in Genivan, their births had been celebrated for weeks, he and Jiren. He knew his brother was alive, a connection they both had. Jiren also shared his misgivings. Naga had become bold, more bold than usual attacking Gideans but strangely Jiren had heard the Eons were also buckling under their assault… Naga never work together, never! They battle each other as frequently as the human races of Genivan.
The Taloreans were devising something, a machine Jiren had told Mal, something to render trade with Gideans no more. They needed trade with Taloreans, only they could forge with metal, no one else could. Taloreans have an innate magic for the gems and metals of Genivan, trade must continue! Mal could not understand why the Taloreans would do such a thing? Gideans and Zarythians were the most reliant on Taloreans for their magic to work or be amplified.
What did it all mean? Azurians certainly had a plan to wipe out the Eons, every race knew but had for generations turned a blind eye. Eons were reclusive which made them appear arrogant but Jiren had told him they were a humble people that cared for the balance of life, animals and revered Gideans ability to heal sickness in their jungle.
Why would any of the races seek to destroy the balance of Genivan? Greed or power Mal supposed. All he knew was his brother was missing, a dull ache in his heart. To the dark abyss with the King! He would propose not only to find his brother but lay out all his suspicions… with a plan of action. Gideans were apart of this world too and they would not be ignorant to the Shadowlands politics!
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