Downfall by Arthur Slade

Author:Arthur Slade [Slade, Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dava Enterprises
Published: 2020-12-23T16:00:00+00:00

15

The Fallen Zarek

"Why bring up that ancient bitter history?" one of them said. "It is long gone. It is done."

"Clearly it is not done," a female Zarek said. "It continues, and it is our legacy. Though the dark Zarek has broken from us."

"Then I have your permission to tell her the tale?" our Zarek said.

"Just don't make it a long story," a female Zarek said from behind me.

Another male added, "We don't have patience for long stories."

I glanced over at Thord, wondering if he was having as much difficulty as I was following the conversation as it zipped from Zarek to Zarek. How did these mage giants keep track of anything?

"Well, the story began many years ago," our Zarek said.

"Not that many," one of them corrected. I'd stopped even trying to look for the speaker. "Five hundred and forty-six years. So not very long at all."

"Yes," our Zarek said. He held up his hand. "Let me tell the story without interruptions from ourselves." Several Zareks nodded. "Each of us was there when we were cast out of the land the dragons called Drachia and we called Grithr. We remember that day clearly and how we were brought to this land by our mothers." I chose not to ask exactly how that happened. They must be, well, very big mother giants to have carried them. "We don't write our histories. We remember them. We received them from the fire giants and the stone giants and the frost giants, and we Zareks carry that grief and that anger of the past so they don't have to. That is our job as mage giants. To remember the past. And to make all giants stronger because of that memory." He drew in a breath. "We were not prepared for battle, nor did we have any means of destroying the dragons. We had long ago broken our catapults and our other weapons of war as a sign of good faith. But their King Andorian Andorium." The name chilled me. For I knew Brax's last name was Andorium. Was he from the same clan? "He led an army against us, and took the giants by surprise. And..." He rubbed his forehead. "The memories are too fresh. The blood. The bones. The breaking.”

"The blood. The bones. The breaking," all the Zareks said at once.

"We were defeated," our Zarek continued. "And they drove us from our hill and mountain homes and into the waters. To drown. And then our mothers, our dear loving mothers, came out of the sky to rescue us. They carried as many of us as possible to this land. And the mortals, too. And we grew Gnagnia into what it is today. A home. A haven. A place of safety."

He was now digging his purple fingers into his scalp. "But, as I said, each of us Zareks keeps the memories of the great betrayal in our heads and our hearts. And those memories rise up sometimes in our nightmares. The Zarek you met, he dwelled on these memories.

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