"The old stories say Alaron wore armor over his white tunic...they say the armor was like stained glass, and a light as bright as the sun shone through the many-colored panes...and the light came from the spirit of Alaron, who carried his father's fire within."
"Is that what the stories say?"
"Look, neither of us were there. It's not like we can find out what it was really like."
"You've got me there."
Kaelor was a mild-mannered farmer who met
Garrett Lindon and saved him from brigands on the road. He took Garrett home, fed him, learned of his mission, and made the surprisingly easy decision to abandon his life in the
Tilled Valley in order to accompany him. Taking only his axe and a flask of water, he left the farm to be divided among his neighbors.
While the ease with which he did this continues to baffle Garrett, Kaelor has proved surprisingly easy to get along with. While he does have his infuriating moments... namely when he behaves as if commonly known truths are questionable...his good humor, quiet demeanor, and willingness to be overruled has made him an excellent companion.
The only thing Kaelor does not speak of is hist past. Garrett understands that some things are too painful to revisit...he has his own stories, and he counts himself lucky that Kaelor does not probe him for secrets. Over time, new members have joined their cause to Garrett's ragged little band. Laboring under his heavy, some might say ludicrous ambition to unseat the
Aeternum, reopen the
Great Library, and utterly destroy the
Justiciars, Garrett has come to rely on Kaelor as a quiet, comforting presence, whose eyes sometimes flashed with a little too much darkness and a little too much
understanding.
Recently, however, there have been several upsetting revelations. The first of these is that while camping near the
Spines, Kaelor came to Garrett in his tent and woke him. With a finger to his lips and a gesture, he led Garrett out into the woods and up the footholds of the mountains...until he revealed a
Skygate. This in itself was not extremely remarkable.
Until Kaelor went forward and, with calm deliberation, waved his hand in front of the archway. A shimmering waterfall of pale gold magic appeared, flowing from the top to the bottom of the arch before fizzing out in the grass. After overcoming his shock, Garrett realized he could see a rugged canyon on the other side, with a castle that was
floating, chained to the earth by bands of steel no earthly smith could forge. The sky was almost purple, the clouds torn and twisted.
He had no more time to gape before Kaelor turned and left without a word. The power sparked and faded, and the gate went dark again.
Besides all the other truths this experience impressed on Garrett, it left him with a terrifying conclusion.
Kaelor might be
Ethelen. He knows no other way, no other magic that could manipulate the Skygates. But whether Kaelor is one of the
Twins, or another god entirely, never before known to the world...these doubts torment Garrett nightly. But he cannot go to Kaelor and ask him for the truth, because of the darkest implication of all.
If Kaelor is Ethelen, he is all powerful. He can see beyond Time itself. He knows everything that will happen.
Which means that all this time, he has been manipulating Garrett and the others...and the entire world as well.
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