All That Is Evil Is Not Dark/Chapter 56

Darin sighed deeply and turned to one of the soldiers. "Make ready for departure; it would appear as if our communicant does not meet the Light Lord's approval."

The soldier nodded and moved off. Darin, meanwhile, went to the site where Giliara had so recently stood with a sense of remorse. He had liked the Brilhado whatever his affiliations. There were no assurances, of course, that, even should Giliara be genuine, the Light Lord would accept his service, but Tralin had sounded confident. This was a setback in Tralin's plans to be sure and Darin did not relish revealing to the king what had become of the Fallen Angel.

Darin felt odd being here; the last time he had stood in the temple complex, he had been the Water Lord's chosen communicant. In the time since he had been in the service to the crown, he had not ventured to the temple at Deren either. Yet here, in familiar circumstances, Darin found himself drawn to what remained of the local temple. Fires set by those fleeing the rampaging undead had damaged most of the city, but the temples oddly stood firm in spite of this fact. Of course, it was not odd, really; the temples had many magical defenses against outside evil. It was evil from within for which they were unprepared.

Officially, the temple to his god was closed, the inner sanctum had been violated, and yet nonetheless Darin moved through the corridors toward that secret place that had led him before. It felt like ages since he had been here, yet Darin knew that it was not even yet a year. Darin found the water temple torn open and in disrepair, abandoned as Cerin said it would be, and it was little wonder given the terrors that had happened here, yet, compelled, Darin still descended the stairs to the communication chamber. He recognized his desire to see this familiar setting was unhealthy in a way, but he was not deterred by the recognition and pressed onward. He came to the sacred chamber and sighed to see its doors torn aside; evidence of looting suggested that the undead or those few scavengers who survived their onslaught had ransacked even the innermost regions of the temple.

Darin entered and looked around with a sense of sadness. He had devoted himself to this place and to his home temple in Vandar and it lay a derelict, in ruins. He had corrupted his faith, he knew that now; it had become an obsession more about his personal ideology and personal advancement then service to the Water Lord.

In this very chamber, he had plotted all sorts of damage to the man he now willing served as king. The irony was bittersweet and Darin let out a sigh of nostalgic despair.

'Have you finally come then, my child?' the voice came, startling Darin utterly; with the temple abandoned, he did not expect the Water Lord to communicate with him here.

'I have failed you utterly...'

'You have failed only yourself, child. As to me, you did only what was designed. You always acted as and when I asked. Have you lost your faith and given up on me? I see that that is not so, for I can still reach you. Yet you have long sought to avoid me...'

'What else could I do...? Much has changed.'

'What has come to pass was unavoidable. We have long known the day of the Uncreator’s wrath would return. He was never one to give up on his ideas. His jealousy and fear of the world has been since before humankind knew the world.'

'I serve King Tralin now... I am no longer a priest.'

'You may no longer attend temple rites but you remain my priest. Once a communicant, you are one ever after. You have not gone to another temple or had yourself cast out. You remain my servant. As to Tralin the Drakel, King of Deren, your service to him was planned for ages upon ages... Hatred and love walk a fine line...'

'Cerin mentioned to me that you intended my service. I am not sure if I should feel used or grateful.'

'Feel both. I am not bothered by your concern. I am bothered by your despair. You come here lost and afraid, you entered this temple in misery. What makes you weep?'

'The king had hoped that we might find a way to redeem Giliara the Brilhado into the Light Lord's temple that he might be received as communicant, but the Light Lord merely destroyed him for the effrontery...'

'She did? You saw her come and smite him with malice?'

'I saw a bolt of brilliant light strike him and heard him cry out, and when it passed, all that remained of him was a feather.'

'Odd that all that should remain of a person is a single feather. If the force used was sufficient to obliterate him, how could that one feather survive? If it were not sufficient, where is the blood and other remains?'

'What do you mean?'

'Return to the temple courtyard, Darin,' the Water Lord said, his voice fading.

'Why, what is it..?' Darin asked.

But the Water Lord had fallen completely silent and the disrepair and desecration of the temple began to wear on Darin anew. With a sigh, he began for the surface as commanded.