The Crippled God

And the Elder God who was not Mael of the Seas then spoke . ‘ Heboric, you but dream, and this dream of yours is not a conversation. Only a monologue. In this dream, Heboric Ghosthands, you are trapped .’



But the mortal named Heboric shook his head . ‘ You don’t understand. All I have touched I have destroyed. Friends. Gods. Even the child – I lost her too, to the Whirlwind. I lost them all .’



‘ Heboric Ghosthands ,’ said Mael , ‘ will you fill this ocean with your tears? If you believe this notion to be new, know this: these waters were so filled … long ago .’



The other Elder God said , ‘ Heboric, you must awaken from this dream. You must free your hands – they have waited for this moment since the island. They have touched and taken the Jade and now within you reside a million lost souls – souls belonging to this foreign god. And, too, your hands have touched Otataral, the summoner of Korabas .’



But Heboric sank back down, groping in the silts once more . ‘ I killed my god .’



‘ Heboric ,’ said Mael of the Seas , ‘ even gods of war will tire of war. It seems that only mortals will not. No matter. He has absolved you of all blame. His blood has brought life to dead lands. He deems it a worthy sacrifice .’



‘ But that sacrifice will fail, Heboric ,’ said the other Elder God , ‘ if you do not awaken from your dream .’



‘ Who is upon the tree? ’



‘ Heboric, there is no one upon the tree .’



The sightless eyes lifted once again . ‘ No one? ’



‘ Let us see your hands, old friend. I have awakened all the warrens, and all now lead to one place. A cavern far beneath a barrow, made by the jaws of D’rek. Shall we walk there now, Heboric? ’



‘ A barrow? ’



‘ A barrow .’



‘ No one dreams within a barrow .’



Both Elder Gods were silent to that, and when the Crippled God looked at each of them in turn he saw that they were weeping – he could see the tears on their weathered faces, as if they stood, not at the bottom of an ocean, but upon a desert .



Or upon the broken skin of a barrow .



When Heboric dragged his hands from the silts, one glowed emerald through the billowing clouds, the other the hue of Otataral. The face he now turned to the Elder Gods was filled with sudden fear . ‘ Will I be alone there? In that cavern? ’



‘ No ,’ replied Mael of the Seas . ‘ Never again .’



‘ Who was upon the tree? ’



‘ We go to her now, Heboric Ghosthands .’



They began walking, and the Crippled God could feel the sorceries of this realm drawing towards them, gathering, conjoining to make this road .



Then, ahead on the path, he saw the glimmer of a lantern – a figure, now guiding them forward, but from a great distance .



The journey seemed to take an eternity. Things sank down from time to time, coming from the darkness above, stirring clouds of silt into the currents. He saw ships of wood, ships of iron. He saw the carcasses of serpentine monsters. He saw a rain of human corpses, shark-gnawed and dragged down boots first to land upon the bottom as if to walk – perhaps even to join this procession – but then their legs folded beneath them, and the silts made for them a soft place to rest .



He thought he saw mounted warriors, glimmering green and blue, tracking them from a distance .



The lantern light was suddenly closer, and the Crippled God saw their guide standing before a cave chewed into the face of a massive cliffside .



When they reached the mouth of that cave, the two Elder Gods paused and both bowed to their guide, but that ghastly figure gave no sign of acknowledgement, only turned away, as if to take its light on to some other path. As if to lead others to their own fates .



They strode down a winding tunnel, and emerged in a vast cavern .



The Elder God who was not Mael of the Seas faced the Crippled God . ‘ Long have you wandered the blood I gave to this realm. I am K’rul, the Maker of Warrens. Now it is time for you to leave, to return to your home .’



The Crippled God considered this, and then said , ‘ I am flesh and bone. Made in the guise of a human. Where my children call down to me, I cannot go. Would you have me summon them down? ’



‘ No. That would mean our deaths – all of us .’



‘ Yes. It would .’



‘ There will be a way ,’ K’rul said . ‘ It begins with Heboric, but it ends at the hands of another .’



‘ This flesh you wear ,’ Mael of the Seas added , ‘ is unsuited to your return. But it was the best that they could do .’