The Chaoswar Saga: A Kingdom Besieged, A Crown Imperilled, Magician’s End

Magnus said, ‘Why do you ask? They were obliterated. I was there when their birthing crèches were destroyed in the Ratn’gary Mountains.’

Without humour, Jim said, ‘You missed some.’

Pug stood up. ‘What?’

‘On a boat in the south of Kesh I saw a scaled green hand with black talons sticking out of a robe, and if that’s not a Pantathian, then I’ve not read every report on them in the archives in Krondor.’

‘Where was this?’ asked Pug.

‘Off the big island called the Island of the Snakes. Wondered what he had to do with things, maybe that’s your answer.’

Pug sat down again. ‘It’s possible. The Great Uprising was about the Pantathians getting the moredhel to invade the Kingdom. With that relatively small force, they manipulated the Brotherhood of the Dark Path and that ended with the destruction of two cities, first Armengar and then Sethanon. With Kesh’s might at their disposal …’ He shrugged. ‘They have the ability to appear as other races, elf, human … yes, if they are back and in numbers, it’s possible.’

‘Kesh and the Kingdom at war? To what ends? How does that benefit the Pantathians, if it is them?’

Pug looked uncertain. ‘What I do know is that when they first took a hand, at the end of the Riftwar, they were bent upon securing the Lifestone—’ he looked at Jim.

‘I know about it. My great-great-grandfather was detailed in his remembrances. He was at the Battle of Sethanon, remember, with Prince Arutha?’

Pug was forced to smile. ‘Not many of us within that chamber knew the Lifestone existed then, and none of us ever understood its true nature; even later when Calis “untangled” it, for lack of a better way to put it, we hardly understood it better. The Pantathians wanted it, as did the Demon Lord Jakan later, because it was an artefact of great power.

‘But neither the Pantathians nor the demon knew its true nature, or that it would ultimately be useless to them. Whatever the Dragon Lords planned to do with it was never apparent. I know they were desperate to regain it during that battle.’

Jim said, ‘I know its nature was unknown to James …’ He interrupted himself. ‘This is one of those moments when I have to remind myself that you knew him.’

‘My daughter was married to him,’ Pug reminded him.

‘You knew all of them, Prince Arutha, King Lyam, Guy du Bas-Tyra, all the great figures of history.’

Pug’s smile was rueful. ‘Hardly all of them. And not all were mentioned in the histories.’ For a moment a fleeting kaleidoscope of images played through Pug’s mind – faces of those he had known and loved: Squire Roland, his rival for the affections of Princess Carline, then Katala, his first wife, and Laurie of Tyr-Sog, who wed Carline. Then came others, Lord Borric, Swordmaster Fannon, Father Tully, Kulgan and Meecham, those the years had left behind.

Pug pushed aside the flood of memories and said, ‘Jim, your great-great-grandfather, like those not within that chamber, was told what we believe he needed to know.’

‘We?’

‘What would later become the core of the Conclave, along with Tomas.’ Pug looked off into the distance as if remembering, then added, ‘Lord James, the legendary Jimmy the Hand, had just died when Calis unlocked the mystery of the stone. It was … life. Somehow when the Valheru contrived to overthrow the gods during the Chaos Wars they created it. Apparently they placed some of their own life energies within it, creating a tool only they truly knew how to utilize. We surmise it was a weapon or source of great power to them, for it was they who manipulated the Pantathians to attempt to seize it. Over all these years, especially since the Lifestone was destroyed, we’ve never attempted to assess what the real nature of the device was.’

Magnus said, ‘You have been otherwise busy.’

Pug and Jim both looked over to see if he was joking.

Pug said, ‘Yes, but still, it was a watershed creation in the history of this world.’ He let out a long sigh. ‘What we know is this: the Pantathians are artificial creatures, not natural beings, but rather snakes raised up to human form, given existence by their Dragon Lord Mistress, Alma-Lodaka.’

‘Could they really do that?’ asked Jim. ‘I mean, create life?’

‘No, not exactly,’ said Magnus. He glanced at his father who nodded for him to continue. ‘They could manipulate it, not create it. The Valheru were beings of enormous power, godlike even, but they were not gods. And the Pantathians were not the only product of Valheru tinkering.’

‘Really?’ said Jim, his fatigue wearing off as he became more interested. Here was a discussion about important things that didn’t involve people trying to kill him or destroy the Kingdom.

‘There’s a race of tiger men near the Necropolis called the City of the Dead Gods, in Novindus. And once a race of giant eagles, big enough to carry a man, flew the skies.’

Jim frowned. ‘Perhaps we should go back to things I might comprehend.

‘If this Lifestone no longer exists then, assuming for a moment the Pantathians are behind every mad thing that is underway right now, what could they be after that would possibly benefit them by having the Kingdom and Kesh plunged into total war?’

‘I have no idea,’ said Pug.

‘And, while we’re on the topic of madness, can you even begin to suggest the part the demons have in this?’

‘No,’ said Pug.

‘Except,’ said Magnus, ‘they did manage one thing.’

‘What?’

‘It just occurred to me that they did force the Star Elves to return to the world of their birth.’