A Blood-soaked Legacy
V
Skulls of the Fallen
(Shard II)
(Shard II)
"Tens of thousands, or even more. Entire scores of the dead." Tyverus gave laugh that was half-filled with fear. "Are these the people that died in the city above?"
Isilda continued to walk forward in a haze, her head lifted up slowly as her eyes trailed along the many skulls in the wall as they trailed upwards into the dark that the glowing crystals could not reach. "No, there's no way." She stopped at the edge of the wall and let her fingers reach out towards one of the alcoves. She pulled back sharply.
"Well, you said these were the catacombs beneath-" Tyverus stopped and lifted an eyebrow while thinking. "What was the name of the place?"
"The city of Neshran. The first city of the Oracles, long ago." Isilda let her hands glide over the stone as she began to walk parallel to the wall, making her way towards the alcove and altar in the center.
"Yeah, Neshran. If these are the catacombs, then wouldn't it make sense for all these skulls to be those who were buried here?" Tyverus began to walk after Isilda, keeping just an arm's length behind her.
"Neshran was destroyed thousands of years ago, Tyverus. None of these skulls should be preserved at all. Not even fragments or dust should remain. The world has been through so much since that time. The destruction of Oerstav Caelii, the Cataclysm-" Isilda's voice trailed off again.
"So these skulls are more recent?" Tyverus stopped and scraped his foot in a wide arch on the stone floor. "So, those are the older ones." Tyverus pointed far to his left. "And these are the more recent ones." Tyverus pointed to the far right. "Some of those down there look pretty new." He began to wander off in that direction.
Isilda stopped in the alcove and moved behind the altar. In this recess of the rock wall, only five skulls remained in one large alcove. All five of these skulls were coated and sealed in some silver-like metal. She let her fingers run across the stone that they rested upon and feeling the ancient remains of what might have been cloth.
"I believe these five were the first." Isilda stopped and began to look at the skulls before her. Each was pristine in their metal seal. Jagged runes were scratched into each skull's forehead with enough force enough to gouge the strong metal. "These are the most important."
"Well, I found the newest." Tyverus came back and stood beside Isilda. He offered up a skull in his hands while smiling. "Looks like it was taken quite savagely, too." He rolled the skull in his hands, showing bits of decaying sinew holding the jaw in place, and a rattling bit of spine held at the neck by mummified muscle.
Isilda turned her head toward Tyverus and shot him a glare. "These are the remains of the dead. They aren't toys." She grabbed the skull from Tyverus and began to run her fingers over it. "Given the curvature and shape of the jaw-” Isilda was lost in concentration for a moment and then regained her voice. “These are more feminine features. This-" She leaned forward to survey the skull in her hands. "Given the look of what's left of the tissue near the neck, I think this is only about two decades old, maybe a few years less."
"Well, that's far more recent than when Neshran fell, right?" Tyverus scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile. "So, who is storing a bunch of people's heads in an old catacomb?"
"Put this back." Isilda handed the skull back to Tyverus. "Carefully. These are the last remains of who knows how many people."
Tyverus gave a nod and exaggeratedly held the skull in front of him in both hands. He pivoted his head forward and began to slowly walk back to where he had stolen the skull. Isilda turned away and back to the alcove.
"As I was saying-" Isilda increased her volume and went back to staring intendedly at the metal-clad skulls in the alcove before her. "These have to be the oldest and the most prized."
Isilda reached out her fingers towards one of the leftmost skulls on the shelf. She pulled her fingers back, afraid to touch them. She swallowed hard and reached out once more to let her fingers lightly glide over the forehead of the one she focused on.
"How's that?" Tyverus bellowed from yards further down the wall, in the dark.
"There are runes scratched into these skulls." Isilda slowly lifted the skull and took a single step back from the alcove. "These are-" She took another stride backward into the light to see better. "These are ancient Morthavi runes."
"What, like the ones on that runestone earlier on?" Tyverus continued to bellow but his voice was broken by the clanging of his armor as he walked back to Isilda.
"Yes." Isilda rubbed some of the dust and frost from the metal to see the runes better. "These runes are truly ancient and in one of the first languages of humanity." She blinked hard and began to chew on her bottom lip. "I can barely make them out and there are only four runes scratched into this one."
"Well, you know some Morthavi, right? Try sounding it out." Tyverus took one last step and slide in behind Isilda. He leaned forward over her shoulder to see the skull she held up in the light.
"This one is Ameath." Isilda pressed her thumb over the leftmost rune on the skull. She shifted her thumb right to the next. "This one is Dhottan." She pivoted her right thumb to the next. "This one isn't a central rune, it's more of a sounding rune."
"Sounding rune?" Tyverus blinked and gave a snort of confusion. "You mean there are more than just like Hoelatha? The 'ans,' 'bhers,' and 'caels.'"
"Morthavi has a lot more than just the few we use now. It was an elegant and complex language. Many scholars believe it to be the very language of magick itself." Isilda turned her head to stare intently at Tyverus. "The incantations you use for your elemental rotes are bastardizations of this language."
"Okay, okay." Tyverus rolled his eyes and then looked back to Isilda. "But what sound do these last two make?"
Isilda turned back to the skull. She pressed her thumb in tightly to the runes. "This is a slightly modified one. The tanztur at the top going from the left aspkan to the right drahm-" She stopped for a moment and let her tongue flick across her lips. "I'd say it would be something like 'maen' or 'may-en.'"
"Okay, and the last one?" Tyverus reached out his hand and pressed his thumb above the last rune. "I don't know what a drahm is, but what is this one?"
"This is more complex." Isilda bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "I'd say it as either 'thrayn' or 'thraya.'"
"Okay." Tyverus squeezed in behind Isilda and pressed her back against his body. He reached another hand over her and pointed at the first two runs with his index finger and thumb of his left hand. "So, you said these two were central runes. So they'd have common definitions, right?"
Isilda moved her shoulders and hips to get closer to Tyverus. "Yes. I'm guessing, if the last two runes are a name, then these would be-" Isilda fluttered her eyes for a moment and leaned her head back against Tyverus' chest. "Dearest daughter."
"So, it would be, 'My dearest daughter, Maen-thrayn?" Tyverus gave a sharp breath in and let Isilda push her head further into his chest.
"No. 'Thrayn' would be masculine. I think her name would be Maen-thraya or Maen-thrai." Isilda opened her eyes to look up at Tyverus from beneath his chin. She gave a genuine smile after licking her lips for a brief moment.
"Well, there we go." Tyverus slowly took hold of the skull from Isilda's grip and pulled backward. He swiveled from behind her and began walking towards the alcove to put the skull back on its shelf. "See, I can help. I may not be an oracle, or know anything about these runes, but I can still help."
Isilda took a step toward Tyverus and took a sharp breath in to say something but wasn't able to even start. A smile remained on her face and one of her hands outreached. Tyverus took a step to close the distance.
"Where in Gehemol is that little shit!" Bhergom roared and neared towards Isilda in an almost-run. "Did either of you see that beast scurry by here?!"
"No-" Tyverus immediately dropped his hands to his sides and stared over to Bhergom with confusion across his face. "No one other than yourself came near us. What happened?"
"He stole it!" Bhergom's face went red with rage. "I told you he couldn't be trusted. I told you!" Bhergom clenched his hands into fists at his side and began marching towards Isilda. "Were you in on this, too?"
Tyverus jumped between the old Oracle and Isilda. He lifted one of his hands up as a barrier between himself and Bhergom's wrath. Bhergom leaned past the young knight to stare daggers at Isilda.
"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Isilda took a step back with genuine concern and fear spreading across her face. "What was stolen?"
"One of the most powerful artifacts in the world, you dumb twit!" Berghom raised one of his hands and pressed past Tyverus.
"Whoa, now." Tyverus grabbed Bhergom by the wrist and pushed himself in front of the old man again. The young knight's gloved fingers flowed over the old oracles hand while his other hand grabbed the man's elbow at the joint. Within a second, Tyverus had Bhergom in a painful arm lock and pulled him back.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I was here with Tyverus examining the skulls." Isilda looked from Tyverus to Bhergom. She took a step forward with her arms out, wanting to reassure her teacher. She looked to Tyverus who shook his head. She stepped back.
"You-" Bhergom began to start and then tried to pull his arm free from Tyverus' hold. As he did so, the knight clamped down harder into the lock, making the old man wince in pain. "Both of you are responsible for this!"
"Calm down, or I will make you calm down." Tyverus' voice was firm as he neared his face to that of Bhergom's. "How about you show us what happened before you jump to any conclusions?"
Bhergom beamed rage up at Tyverus. The knight seemed entirely unphased and in his element. "Show us, now, or I'll break your arm."
"Fine!" Bhergom gave a hard shrug, but Tyverus didn't let go. "I'll reveal to you all of your guilt!" Bhergom looked over to Isilda and then back to Tyverus. "Let go of my damned arm!"
With a quick and easy motion, Tyverus let go of Bhergom's arm and raised both of his hands up in front of him with open palms. "Okay, then. Go."
Isilda stormed after Bhergom and then stepped in front of him. "Show us what happened, before you try to hurt one of us, and yourself, in your impotent rage."
Bhergom stormed after Isilda, still as red-faced as he had been before. He swallowed hard while shaking his head in defiance of Isilda and Tyverus' innocence. Rage was still boiling in his veins.
Tyverus took a moment to gather his thoughts and his breath. He had come very close to breaking the old man's arm to protect Isilda. He honestly didn't know what was going on, what this powerful artifact might have been, or why these damned catacombs were so important to these two oracles. He doubted that Vhoggli had done anything wrong, but with a few steps after Bhergom and Isilda, he would soon find out.
Isilda continued to walk forward in a haze, her head lifted up slowly as her eyes trailed along the many skulls in the wall as they trailed upwards into the dark that the glowing crystals could not reach. "No, there's no way." She stopped at the edge of the wall and let her fingers reach out towards one of the alcoves. She pulled back sharply.
"Well, you said these were the catacombs beneath-" Tyverus stopped and lifted an eyebrow while thinking. "What was the name of the place?"
"The city of Neshran. The first city of the Oracles, long ago." Isilda let her hands glide over the stone as she began to walk parallel to the wall, making her way towards the alcove and altar in the center.
"Yeah, Neshran. If these are the catacombs, then wouldn't it make sense for all these skulls to be those who were buried here?" Tyverus began to walk after Isilda, keeping just an arm's length behind her.
"Neshran was destroyed thousands of years ago, Tyverus. None of these skulls should be preserved at all. Not even fragments or dust should remain. The world has been through so much since that time. The destruction of Oerstav Caelii, the Cataclysm-" Isilda's voice trailed off again.
"So these skulls are more recent?" Tyverus stopped and scraped his foot in a wide arch on the stone floor. "So, those are the older ones." Tyverus pointed far to his left. "And these are the more recent ones." Tyverus pointed to the far right. "Some of those down there look pretty new." He began to wander off in that direction.
Isilda stopped in the alcove and moved behind the altar. In this recess of the rock wall, only five skulls remained in one large alcove. All five of these skulls were coated and sealed in some silver-like metal. She let her fingers run across the stone that they rested upon and feeling the ancient remains of what might have been cloth.
"I believe these five were the first." Isilda stopped and began to look at the skulls before her. Each was pristine in their metal seal. Jagged runes were scratched into each skull's forehead with enough force enough to gouge the strong metal. "These are the most important."
"Well, I found the newest." Tyverus came back and stood beside Isilda. He offered up a skull in his hands while smiling. "Looks like it was taken quite savagely, too." He rolled the skull in his hands, showing bits of decaying sinew holding the jaw in place, and a rattling bit of spine held at the neck by mummified muscle.
Isilda turned her head toward Tyverus and shot him a glare. "These are the remains of the dead. They aren't toys." She grabbed the skull from Tyverus and began to run her fingers over it. "Given the curvature and shape of the jaw-” Isilda was lost in concentration for a moment and then regained her voice. “These are more feminine features. This-" She leaned forward to survey the skull in her hands. "Given the look of what's left of the tissue near the neck, I think this is only about two decades old, maybe a few years less."
"Well, that's far more recent than when Neshran fell, right?" Tyverus scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile. "So, who is storing a bunch of people's heads in an old catacomb?"
"Put this back." Isilda handed the skull back to Tyverus. "Carefully. These are the last remains of who knows how many people."
Tyverus gave a nod and exaggeratedly held the skull in front of him in both hands. He pivoted his head forward and began to slowly walk back to where he had stolen the skull. Isilda turned away and back to the alcove.
"As I was saying-" Isilda increased her volume and went back to staring intendedly at the metal-clad skulls in the alcove before her. "These have to be the oldest and the most prized."
Isilda reached out her fingers towards one of the leftmost skulls on the shelf. She pulled her fingers back, afraid to touch them. She swallowed hard and reached out once more to let her fingers lightly glide over the forehead of the one she focused on.
"How's that?" Tyverus bellowed from yards further down the wall, in the dark.
"There are runes scratched into these skulls." Isilda slowly lifted the skull and took a single step back from the alcove. "These are-" She took another stride backward into the light to see better. "These are ancient Morthavi runes."
"What, like the ones on that runestone earlier on?" Tyverus continued to bellow but his voice was broken by the clanging of his armor as he walked back to Isilda.
"Yes." Isilda rubbed some of the dust and frost from the metal to see the runes better. "These runes are truly ancient and in one of the first languages of humanity." She blinked hard and began to chew on her bottom lip. "I can barely make them out and there are only four runes scratched into this one."
"Well, you know some Morthavi, right? Try sounding it out." Tyverus took one last step and slide in behind Isilda. He leaned forward over her shoulder to see the skull she held up in the light.
"This one is Ameath." Isilda pressed her thumb over the leftmost rune on the skull. She shifted her thumb right to the next. "This one is Dhottan." She pivoted her right thumb to the next. "This one isn't a central rune, it's more of a sounding rune."
"Sounding rune?" Tyverus blinked and gave a snort of confusion. "You mean there are more than just like Hoelatha? The 'ans,' 'bhers,' and 'caels.'"
"Morthavi has a lot more than just the few we use now. It was an elegant and complex language. Many scholars believe it to be the very language of magick itself." Isilda turned her head to stare intently at Tyverus. "The incantations you use for your elemental rotes are bastardizations of this language."
"Okay, okay." Tyverus rolled his eyes and then looked back to Isilda. "But what sound do these last two make?"
Isilda turned back to the skull. She pressed her thumb in tightly to the runes. "This is a slightly modified one. The tanztur at the top going from the left aspkan to the right drahm-" She stopped for a moment and let her tongue flick across her lips. "I'd say it would be something like 'maen' or 'may-en.'"
"Okay, and the last one?" Tyverus reached out his hand and pressed his thumb above the last rune. "I don't know what a drahm is, but what is this one?"
"This is more complex." Isilda bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "I'd say it as either 'thrayn' or 'thraya.'"
"Okay." Tyverus squeezed in behind Isilda and pressed her back against his body. He reached another hand over her and pointed at the first two runs with his index finger and thumb of his left hand. "So, you said these two were central runes. So they'd have common definitions, right?"
Isilda moved her shoulders and hips to get closer to Tyverus. "Yes. I'm guessing, if the last two runes are a name, then these would be-" Isilda fluttered her eyes for a moment and leaned her head back against Tyverus' chest. "Dearest daughter."
"So, it would be, 'My dearest daughter, Maen-thrayn?" Tyverus gave a sharp breath in and let Isilda push her head further into his chest.
"No. 'Thrayn' would be masculine. I think her name would be Maen-thraya or Maen-thrai." Isilda opened her eyes to look up at Tyverus from beneath his chin. She gave a genuine smile after licking her lips for a brief moment.
"Well, there we go." Tyverus slowly took hold of the skull from Isilda's grip and pulled backward. He swiveled from behind her and began walking towards the alcove to put the skull back on its shelf. "See, I can help. I may not be an oracle, or know anything about these runes, but I can still help."
Isilda took a step toward Tyverus and took a sharp breath in to say something but wasn't able to even start. A smile remained on her face and one of her hands outreached. Tyverus took a step to close the distance.
"Where in Gehemol is that little shit!" Bhergom roared and neared towards Isilda in an almost-run. "Did either of you see that beast scurry by here?!"
"No-" Tyverus immediately dropped his hands to his sides and stared over to Bhergom with confusion across his face. "No one other than yourself came near us. What happened?"
"He stole it!" Bhergom's face went red with rage. "I told you he couldn't be trusted. I told you!" Bhergom clenched his hands into fists at his side and began marching towards Isilda. "Were you in on this, too?"
Tyverus jumped between the old Oracle and Isilda. He lifted one of his hands up as a barrier between himself and Bhergom's wrath. Bhergom leaned past the young knight to stare daggers at Isilda.
"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Isilda took a step back with genuine concern and fear spreading across her face. "What was stolen?"
"One of the most powerful artifacts in the world, you dumb twit!" Berghom raised one of his hands and pressed past Tyverus.
"Whoa, now." Tyverus grabbed Bhergom by the wrist and pushed himself in front of the old man again. The young knight's gloved fingers flowed over the old oracles hand while his other hand grabbed the man's elbow at the joint. Within a second, Tyverus had Bhergom in a painful arm lock and pulled him back.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I was here with Tyverus examining the skulls." Isilda looked from Tyverus to Bhergom. She took a step forward with her arms out, wanting to reassure her teacher. She looked to Tyverus who shook his head. She stepped back.
"You-" Bhergom began to start and then tried to pull his arm free from Tyverus' hold. As he did so, the knight clamped down harder into the lock, making the old man wince in pain. "Both of you are responsible for this!"
"Calm down, or I will make you calm down." Tyverus' voice was firm as he neared his face to that of Bhergom's. "How about you show us what happened before you jump to any conclusions?"
Bhergom beamed rage up at Tyverus. The knight seemed entirely unphased and in his element. "Show us, now, or I'll break your arm."
"Fine!" Bhergom gave a hard shrug, but Tyverus didn't let go. "I'll reveal to you all of your guilt!" Bhergom looked over to Isilda and then back to Tyverus. "Let go of my damned arm!"
With a quick and easy motion, Tyverus let go of Bhergom's arm and raised both of his hands up in front of him with open palms. "Okay, then. Go."
Isilda stormed after Bhergom and then stepped in front of him. "Show us what happened, before you try to hurt one of us, and yourself, in your impotent rage."
Bhergom stormed after Isilda, still as red-faced as he had been before. He swallowed hard while shaking his head in defiance of Isilda and Tyverus' innocence. Rage was still boiling in his veins.
Tyverus took a moment to gather his thoughts and his breath. He had come very close to breaking the old man's arm to protect Isilda. He honestly didn't know what was going on, what this powerful artifact might have been, or why these damned catacombs were so important to these two oracles. He doubted that Vhoggli had done anything wrong, but with a few steps after Bhergom and Isilda, he would soon find out.
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