History of the Lefain/The story of Berrendar part 2
by Scott Baird

Berrendar awoke with a start, he half expected to be greeted by Odin at the gates of Heaven, instead he was sitting in a strange wooden room in a small bed, then the memories came flooding back, Tiamat, the massacre, Warmech, all of it.

He tried to get up but he only felt pain in his body, he fell from a great height into water that was in the middle of nowhere, it was only because of his sword that he had survived.

The sword, he turned his head to see where it was, fortunately it was still near, it was on a small table near his bed.

His head was reeling, so much had happened, the Lefain were gone, killed in one foul swoop, the fiends had returned and the lesser races were not strong enough to fight, his mind and body were exhausted, the sword could not completely heal him and his body could not keep up the strain of staying awake, he fell into a despair filled sleep, filled with visions of his friends and loved ones, gone forever, disappearing under the shadow of a five headed dragon.

He awoke again a few days later, John guiley and his family had done all they could to help the mysterious stranger who's body washed up onto the shore, they even called the local White Mage to try and heal him, although his condition improved, he was still in bad shape, John was waiting at his side when he finally awoke.

''So you are finally awake stranger, how do you feel?’’.

Berrendar at first did not recognise the language, then he realised what was being said, in preparation for a union of the Lefain with the lesser races he took the time to learn the languages of the humans, elves and the dwarves, when the words finally made sense he started to reply in the new language.

''Who, where am I?.''

John did not recognise the accent, he had been consulting with members of the town over the strange man, yet no one seemed to recognise the description of him nor his sword, he was a complete mystery, he turned to the strange man and answered him.

‘‘You’re in the port town of Pravoka, I am John, but all that can wait till later, how do you feel.''

The Lefain sat up, his body ached from the effort but he needed to start moving again, he had things to do, he had to find out what Tiamat said was the truth, his people wiped out.

''My body hurts but I will be fine, i need to leave'' he tried to get up but he reeled in pain and fell back into the bed.

John put his hand on the mans shoulder and said '' You need to let your body Heal, don’t worry though, me and my family will protect you.''

The Lefain was in pain, he waited a moment and the pain dulled, he realised that he would need to start gathering information, if he was where he thought he was then when he recovered he would have a long journey ahead of him.

''Pravoka, I remember that name, it is near the Kingdom of Corenia is it not.''

John looked at him like he was insane, he said ''Um yeah, always has been, do you remember where you come from.''

The Lefain thought carefully about this, he didn’t want to reveal the location of his race, but then he realised that there was no point in keeping secrets, his race was gone.

''I am from Sky Castle.''

John thought about the name and said ''Where is that, in the elf lands or something.''

Berrendar sat up again, he felt his body ache but he needed to stay awake, he needed answers.

''I didn’t think you would, it is where the Lefain live in secrecy or they did live.''

At this John began to laugh '' You must have amnesia, the Lefain are legends, nothing more.''

The Lefain shook his head ''No, they where real, but they are gone know, I am the last survivor of our race.''

John smiled at this ''I am going to get the White Mage again tomorrow, she may be able to heal your memory, I reckon you was just a sailor who fell overboard or something and the shock of your journey was playing with your head, by the way, do you remember your name.''

''My name is Berrendar'' the Lefain replied, he reached out and gripped his sword, it had regained a little of its power and he could feel its healing energy working through him, and then an idea struck him.

''How strong is that table'' Berrendar asked.

''Well, it’s made of oak and its fairly new, pretty strong yeah.''

Berrendar held out the sword to John ''Take my sword and try and cut that table in half, but don’t put any strength behind your swing, just let it drop.''

John took the sword, if only to humour the delirious, when he held the sword in his hand he could feel a strange tingling from it, like the first time he held it when he finally prised it out of the mans hands when he brought him to the bed, when he unwittingly became the first human in hundreds of years to hold a Lefain weapon.

He held the sword and let it drop, he expected it to bounce of the well made table, so much so that when the sword cleaved the table in half like a hot knife he mearly stared for a few moments, when the shock settled he stared at the sword and at the raw power he held.

Berrendar reached out and took Johns hand, he concentrated and John felt a strange energy flow through him.

''I have activated the swords defence system, only you and I can touch it without being shocked by electricity while I am still alive, make sure no one except yourself touches it, take it so that it is within the sunlight, bring it back to me by nightfall.''

Berrendar lay back down '' I must sleep, i am sorry for troubling you John, i will make sure that you are rewarded for your help.''

Berrendar quickly fell back to sleep, John Guiley held the weapon in his hand and at that moment darkness tempted him, he was still a young man, with this sword he could raise an army, invade Corenia and take it for himself, the blade could cut wood, stone and flesh as if they were nothing, it also had magical powers, what man would stand against him, he was trained with a blade, he could get even better, train his sons and build an empire.

Then he thought of the people who would die and the people he would have to kill, Chaos had tempted him and Odin had given him the strength to fight it.

He knew himself, he was no soldier, it was his choice to be a fisherman and he could not let his wife and sons be in danger and no magic sword was going to change that.

He held the blade and went to look for somewhere he could leave it in the sun, but then there was someone he had to see, someone that none in Pravoka would ever be happy to see.


It was the next day that John Guiley went into Pravoka, looking for the building that all ordinary people avoided, but extraordinary circumstances had been placed upon his shoulders, he finally found it, the black mage guild.

He opened the wooden door and all eyes turned to face him, the only light in the building was that of candlelight and the yellow eyes (a sign of a Black Magic user) held a particular light of there own.

''Step inside or get out '' they seemed to hiss in unison.

As much as he was scared of this place John stepped in, he knew he had to ask someone about his discovery.

He was approached by a person in red robes with a straw hat on, it was of indiscernible sex or age, a voice seemed to come from the person in a strange tone.

''Why have you come to the learning hall of the Black Mages commoner?’’.

Johns fear was plain to see...black mages unnerved him enough, but the upfront attitude of this one terrified him.

''Um, I... just... I... need... to... se... to see... Guild master... Barnalby.''

The yellow eyes narrowed ''Why?.''

John cleared his throat ''I have something very important to tell him.''

The mage activated his lesser power of communication, he seemed to stare into space for a few minutes, John got more nervous in this time, he wanted to leave this place of darkness, return to his home and deal with the Berrendar himself.

Then the mage came out of his/her trance and said ''You have been permitted a meeting with Guild Master Barnalby, follow me.''

John followed the mage down several sets of stairs, the rooms seemed to get darker as he passed through them, he felt like he was going to faint, who knows what the Guild Mage would do to him if he felt that he had wasted his time.

They finally came to a small door; John would have to stoop to get in, the mage held his hand on the door and said words in a language alien to John.

The door was finally opened and the mage moved aside and said ''I will wait for your return, now go inside and be brief, the guild master is very busy.''

John stooped and moved into the room which was (thankfully) bigger on the inside, it had portraits on the walls depicting Black Mages fighting monsters and demons of varying sizes and shapes, the only other thing in the room was a wooden desk with a few items on it, a book, quill, inkwell, crystal ball and a sleeping cat.

Sitting at the desk was another Black Mage, this one was no different from the others apart from the fact that he wore robes that had golden runes written on them; he was writing in the book and eventually stopped and looked up and said ''So, how may I help you.''

John cleared his throat and said ''Um... I’m... not... really sure... how... to... tell you... this... but I think... I’ve... found... a Lefain.''

John expected the mage to start laughing and then order him to be thrown out... instead the mage motioned with his hand a chair appeared from nowhere in front of the desk.

''Really '' the mage said ''please, take a seat.''

John sat down... the mage looked at him and said ''Well, what do you know.''

John related the story of how he found Berrendar washed up on the shore, about which he said he was and how he found the sword.

The mage seemed to ponder all this, he knelt back in his chair and sat silently, he eventually sat forward and said to John ''thank you sir, will contact someone who may be able to help, I will make sure your compensated for your care of the Lefain, my assistant will show you out.''

John was lead out of the mages guild and he quickly ran home, he wanted to be as far away from that place as possible.

The head of the Black Mage pulled the crystal orb in front of his face and called upon all of his energy to try and find the one person who could help the Lefain.

''Hello, Matoya, I am the head of Pravoka mage guild and I have something very interesting to tell you.''


Berrendar was soon up and running again, with the help of his limited white magic and his sword he was back to full health, but that didn’t mean much to him, he had no purpose in life.

He enjoyed his brief stay with the Guiley, he taught the sons a little of sword fighting and of the teachings of Odin, but he knew he had to leave, then came the fateful day.

Berrendar stood on a cliff overlooking the sea, his first destination was to go to the kingdom of the elves and seek king Astarons wisdom, then later the dwarf’s lands, but he knew where his journey was going to end.

There was a place hidden from normal humans... a place called the Mirage tower, where a teleporter to the sky castle awaited, he planned to return and to use the technology on Sky Castle to find the Lefain before Warmech or Tiamat found him, if his people were still alive then he wanted to lead them back and reclaim the Sky Castle.

He drew his sword from his belt and saw his own reflection in the blade, since Tiamat destroyed his Mithral armour he was forced to wear a suit of Chain mail that John managed to get for him, he didn’t like human clothing, he was used to the silk robes of the Lefain, it all felt itchy and rough to him, but the cold of the land had no been kind to him (he was used to the magical heating in Sky Castle) and he wasn’t about to die from the cold after his ordeal with Tiamat and Warmech.

He thought of what his father told him about the sword ''son'' he said ''this is the Sun sword, the symbol of our people, for while the sun still shines there is hope and while the sun still shines then this sword will cleave the darkness and when you reach the end of your life then you must pass it on to someone who can wield it rightfully, my ancestor left it here because he knew he couldn’t win, he sacrificed his life to slow, but not stop the darkness.''

He bowed his head, he thought of his people, some of them had to have survived, why would Odin have protected them in the past and not when they needed him the most.

Tears welled in his eyes, he could not give up hope, he couldn’t let his people down, the spirit of his people would live on through him.

He could hear footsteps coming from behind him, he turned and saw John coming up the path with a Black Mage, he remembered from his studies that humans and magic did not completely mesh, that was why they had yellow eyes, he recognised this instantly.

John and the mage came up the path to stand in front of Berrendar, he noticed that the Black Mage was unusually short, yet he noticed its build, it was extremely well built for someone of its size, then he realised that it was a dwarf, a member of the short race who favoured the underground, John spoke to Berrendar '' the head of the Black Mage guild has come to speak with you Berrendar, he says he can help you.''

The Black Mage stepped forward, '' i am Barnalby and may I say it is an honour to meet one of your race, the ones who brought magic to the world'' Berrendar nodded and Barnalby continued '' a long time ago a member of my order, the greatest mage who ever lived, the great Matoya, she gathered a meeting of the heads of the Black Mages guilds and said that anyone who heard reports of a Lefain in the world where to report to her immediately, I spoke with her and she told me to tell you that she can help you find your people.''

Berrendar suddenly moved faster than the other two could see, he was kneeling in front of Barnalby he grabbed Barnalby’s robes and said ''My people, they are alive, where are they, tell me.''

Barnalby brushed off his hands and said ''Calm yourself, all I was told was that she would meet you in front of a place called the Mirage Tower, I have no idea where it is, it is not recorded on any maps, but she said if you can find it then she will help you.''

Berrendar looked out to sea ''I don’t know where it is, but I will find it, I will return to your house John and say goodbye to your family, i have a present for you John, it is this'' Berrendar pulled a scroll from out of his robes and handed it to Barnalby ''This is knowledge of magic that I am sure no human has ever used, I was coming to guild house to sell the information, i believe after knowing John and his families kindness. that humans are now worthy of this knowledge, can I trust you to make sure that John and his family receive some payment for there actions.''

Barnalby held the scroll in his hand, magic beyond human knowledge was held in his hands ''I will make sure, if I am dishonest then Matoya will know.''

Berrendar nodded, John was lost for words, all the cities of the world used Black Mages, they were in high demand and they were rich, now it seemed, so was he ’’there’s no need Berrendar, take the money for yourself, you may need it.''

Berrendar smiled at this ''if my people are alive then I will have no need for gold, take it as a thank you for all of your kindness an work and who knows, if the other Lefain want to create an alliance with the other races then I may just see you again someday.''

Berrendar looked back to the sea, “well, shall we go to your house John, so I may say my goodbyes.''

John smiled at this ''not goodbyes my friend, more like, see you later, if anyone can convince the Lefain, then its you.''

The three turned and walked back down the path to Pravoka, there minds filled with hope.


Berrendar left later that day on a ship called the Caspian, he was travelling to Elfland to visit the wise king Astaron on any clues to finding the Mirage tower, he looked over the edge at his own reflection, then he realised that the crew were looking at him, he shrugged of there stares as a matter of fear, he was unusual and would have a hard time fitting in, but he didn’t care, his first priority was finding this Matoya and learning the fate of his people.

Part 2 = Hope lost and Hope returned

It had been five years to the day that Berrendar left Pravoka and he was no closer to finding the Lefain then he was then.

He was sitting in a tavern called the staff and sword in the town in Belmond and he was eating the human food that he hated so much, its bland flavour, course texture and general poor quality from that which he ate in Sky Castle, but as he had done so many times, he adapted.

He looked at his reflection in the Sun Swords blade, his face had grown haggard, black circles had grown around his eyes, but that was not because of old age or the conditions he lived in, it was because he was close to a wound in the earth.

The earth fiend Lich had been moving closer to the heart of the earth, and because of the Lefains affinity with Odin any ungodliness was uncomfortable, but on this scale it was killing him.

He sheathed his sword again; many times bandits and drunks had tried to steal his sword and often he had been forced to kill them.

He didn’t realise until later the willpower of John Guiley, he could have killed the Lefain while he slept and sold the sword for untold riches, but he was a good man, there were few too many good men these days.

The wound of the earth had affected all the races, humans, elves and dwarves were close to war and the Fiends were still running amuck, Berrendar could see no hope for the lesser races.

''I have become like Kinsdar'' Berrendar thought ''blaming the lesser races for there own faults, but we were just as bad, we grew lazy in our duty to protecting everyone, the purpose of Sky Castle was defence, yet we turned it into a slave for our own laziness.''

''No'' he said aloud '' I can see no hope.''

''Is that so'' came a voice from behind him.

He turned and saw a huge man, muscles and sinew running down his arms, he was a middle aged man who had a long black beard and hair, he wore a suit of Chain mail that barely fit his large form and on his back a large axe was strapped.

The man took up a chair and said ''Greetings, my name is Ragnor, I am on my way to Corenia to see the king, what’s your name.''

Berrendar looked at him in surprise and said ''Are you THE Ragnor, the one who slew dragons and killed Ogres by the thousands, I have heard many stories of you, my name is Berrendar.''

Ragnor smiled and looked at him ''I know who you are, the last Lefain to walk among the humans & elves and dwarves, the slayer of thousands of creatures with his sword powered by the sun, yes I know you and I also know the one your looking for, if my sources are correct you are looking for Matoya are you not.''

Berrendar interest flared ''You know Matoya, where can I find her.''

Ragnor pulled a small orb out of his pocket ‘‘let’s ask her shall we.''

Ragnor concentrated on the orb, Berrendar looked deep inside, he waited a few moments and finally the image of women dressed in black robes.

A voice seemed to speak in Berrendar mind ''Hello Ragnor my friend, are you in Corenia yet.''

Ragnor smiled again ''No my dear, my ship needs repairs so I thought id get a meal and a drink in one of Melmonds lesser known taverns, but one thing I have discovered is that you have been neglecting your duties as a host.''

The voice grew serious ''What do you mean .''

Ragnor voice grew more serious ''In this tavern there is a Lefain, you were supposed to help him find the mirage tower weren’t you, that was your responsibility, so why is he here in Melmond talking about losing hope.''

Matoya voice grew silent for a few moments, then it came back ''i thought that he would find his own way, but you are right, Lefain, if you are listening I will meet you at the town of Gaia, then I will take you to the Mirage tower personally, i will keep my eye on you, I will meet you in tavern called the Lion heart, I will explain all to you there.''

The voice faded and the orbs light disappeared, Ragnor placed it in his bag and said ''So, looks like your going to busy for a while, the journey to Gaia from here will kill some time, but i am glad I could help, now lets eat'' .

They spent the night talking about the plans for the future, Berrendar told Ragnor about Sky Castle and Tiamat and Warmech and his plans to retake Sky Castle, while Ragnor told him of his plans to go to Corenia to compete in a tournament to decide who the next champion of Corenia was, he was currently the favourite.

Berrendar was eventually worn out and excused himself and went to bed, Ragnor stayed awake as long as his body could take it before he fell into a fitful sleep filled with a skeleton in robes, tempting him towards darkness, for the one thing he desired... youth.

Part 3 = the truth

After many months at sea Berrendar finally found himself in Gaia and he finally found what he was searching for, the Lion heart.

His hands sweated, he had not been so close to finding his people in five years, he finally pushed his way through the door, the tavern was empty except for a dark shape in the corner.

''Don’t worry my dear, come closer, we have much to discuss.''

Berrendar moved forward and he saw what had spoken to him, an old women wearing black robes with shimmering silver runes moving about her person.

''Do not worry about privacy'' she said ''I greased the barkeeps palm and he will not be back for an hour or so, now take a seat, we have much to discuss.''

Berrendar sat down, he looked the women in the eyes and all he got back was a blind stare.

''I know what your thinking, you pity me for my blindness, rest assured my dear, i can take you apart as easily I would a flower, lets just say I can see more than most people and leave it at that, but we have much to discuss.''

Matoya clicked her fingers and two glasses of Brandy appeared in front of them ''drink it, you may need it.''

They both took a sip and Matoya face grew grim '' My friend, a man called Dr Unne, a highly respected White Mage and physician was the first to find the Location of the Lefain, but there is a problem, it is completely inaccessible.''

''WHAT!'' Berrendar shouted ''how, why, when, what do you know.''

Matoya took another sip ''From what I know when the Lefain arrived amongst humans again they built a great magical shield that held a certain dweomer, no teleporting or movement magic would work within the vicinity or even close to the city and the city is surrounded by unclimable cliffs and dense forests where the strongest beasts lay, they are well defended against the enemy which chased them, the fiend of air I believe.''

Berrendar only nodded, tears welled up in his eyes, his hope had been dashed, his meaning for being was gone, he put his head in his hands and began to weep, his hopes had been dashed many times, but this was his only true lead and now it was all gone.

Matoya placed her hand on his shoulder ''I am sorry I led you here under false pretences, but you must understand you are needed.''

''We will go to the Mirage Tower and if the teleported still functions then we will try and reclaim the Lefain technology, but if we cannot then there is something you must do, if for some reason we fail then I will tell you.''

Berrendar looked up again ''You mean, there is still hope.''

Matoya smiled ''While there is life there is hope, you of all people should know that, your life was spared because you have something yet to do in this world, now pull yourself together, we will go outside the town and then we will go to the Mirage Tower.''

A short time later they were standing on a cliff overlooking the mountains to the south, Matoya stepped next to Berrendar and started to cast a spell.

''Time is my ally, Haste2.''

Berrendar felt himself speed up, so did Matoya, Matoya then pulled out a sphere made of a grey stone, a Lefain symbol was etched upon it, Berrendar recognised it as the symbol of flight.

''This is a stone that allows things to fly, i borrowed it from a monster, but ill return it later, after we have had some fun.''

She bade him to put his hand on the stone, she closed her eyes and soon they were flying and with there enhanced speed they were soon soaring over mountains.

Berrendar was amazed at what he saw, he lived in Sky Castle all of his life and yet he never appreciated living in the air, until he lost it.

Matoya spoke to him through Telepathy ''We will be there in a days time, maybe less, try and get some rest, I assure you, flying is quite comfortable.''


The two stood in front of the tower, it was built like a termite mound on a large, burning desert which was nothing but burning sands for miles around, the double doors opened to Matoya magic and they went into the darkness.

It was not long before they were surrounded by monsters, vampires to be exact, they had them cornered in a passageway that had no exits other than the one they came in , Matoya stood behind Berrendar and prepared a spell, Berrendar drew his blade and waited, then they saw shadows coming down the corridor and Matoya chanted a spell, one of the mightiest known.

''Death by the power Nature, ZAP.''

When the first few vampires came around the corner they leapt and charged at Berrendar, but a bolt of lightning made of the essence of magic itself shot from Matoya hand, the vampires where there one second and not there the next, they were obliterated.

The next few jumped around and from Branders years of training amongst the human lands he cut them into pieces within seconds, he had tailored his attack style on what he saw Warmech do, speed and strength, the vampires had been decimated.

Realising that there where only a few vampires left, Berrendar turned the corner and saw the last five running at him, she called upon his magic.

''Cold on an atomic level, ICE 3.''

Four of the vampires fell to the floor, impaled by lances of ice, one last one was still alive, his body hanging limp from the wall, a lance through his stomach, the foul thing did not have much time to live.

It lifted its head and started to laugh, blood that was not is own gushing from his mouth, with its final words it said '' one of your own will join us soon, see you and him in hell.''

The thing dropped lifeless to the floor, Matoya bowed her head at this portent, this was something that needed to be pondered later, for now she needed to keep moving, they could hear movement from further away, they needed to hurry.


Soon they managed to barricade themselves within a room, it had a set of double doors and metal panels, Matoya sealed the door from the invading monsters using her magic, they both turned around and they saw what they had been looking for, the teleporter, near it was a human seemingly made out of metal, standing in front of a pillar, there were four pillars and the middle was a silver plate covered in runes, it was the teleporter.

Berrendar stepped forward slowly; suddenly the metal human seemed to start moving, it started to speak in Lefain.

''DUE TO SECURITY PERIMETER BREACH, TELEPORTER HAS BEEN LOCKED TO ANYONE WITHOUT SECURITY CUBE, DESIGNATE LEFAIN AND HUMAN ARE REQUESTED TO LEAVE.''

Matoya said ''What did it say, I couldn’t understand it.''

Berrendar sank to the floor, he knew what it was saying, the only security cubes were either on board Sky Castle or with the other Lefain, which were sealed off, his hope was gone, he fell to the floor crying.

Matoya sighed ''I see, it’s hopeless, but it’s not over for you'' she pulled him up and held him close ''you have a purpose in the world.''

She waited for him to stop, she wiped the tears from his eyes and said ''now look, your people are trying to build a new society, but that wont get far if the fiends have there way.''

''Listen to me, me and some of my friends were granted a vision, a vision of hope, in the city of Pravoka four orphans will be left, they will be extraordinary in skill and power, you must find them and give them these.''

From within her robes she withdrew four dull orbs; each with a symbol drew on.

''You must give them these, then you must take them and train them, you must train them differently, teach one about skill with the blade and combat, one must be trained in stealth and city life, one must be taught of Odin and the last in Black Magic, do you understand.''

Berrendar considered what she was saying, he must prepare the four, train them to defeat the ones who were responsible for his peoples suffering, he pulled himself together, he had a purpose.

''Take them to the house of John Guiley, after the money he received from the Black Mage guild he became mayor because of his judgement and compassion, he can assure you and your apprentices protection from the war that is coming, it is imperative that no one knows about them, people will want them dead, especially the fiends, there life must be a secret until there is a problem in Corenia involving the king, then they must find there own path.''

''It is a great burden you bear, but it is the most important that any of your race will endure during the conflict that is coming.''

''Do you accept, will you bring prosperity to the people of Lefain again?’’.

Berrendar stood silent for a moment, he thought of the past and the future, then he drew his blade.

''I accept, you have shown me that we must prepare for the future, not dwell on the present.''

He moved over to the teleported and placed his sword on the teleported square.

''I will leave this for my students’’ he whispered to himself ''use it well my students, get that five headed demon who robbed me of my people.''

Matoya smiled ''We should be going, i know a spell that will take me back to my cave which is near Pravoka, are you ready.''

Berrendar smiled ''Yes, i have much to do.''

Epilogue

Berrendar stood outside the only orphanage in Pravoka, he had seen his old friend John Guiley, he had turned into a fine man and his sons had become respected members of society, one of them even became a soldier in honour of the training he had received from Berrendar.

He had sorted everything, they would be left alone, even if war was brought about, they would be undisturbed.

This was the place, he pulled out the four orbs, he stared into there murky centre and saw a faint glimmer of light, hope had not been lost.

He opened the door and went inside and the prophecy began.

Maintained by:

d Galloway (Insert Image Here)