Tales of Anyar #5 Destiny's Crucible by Thorensen Olan

Author:Thorensen, Olan [Olan, Thorensen,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-31T14:00:00+00:00

“What do you mean, you and Munmar will travel to Preddi City?” asked a befuddled Lesca Kemescu. “Why would you do that?”

“I’m sorry, Lesca, it’s something confidential. I’ll tell you about it later, just not right now.”

“No, that’s not good enough, Elac. I haven’t questioned you, but don’t think I haven’t noticed you and Munmar being secretive. The two of you are up to something, and as your wife, I deserve to know what’s going on.”

Elac sighed and sat at their main table. “Are you sure you want to know the reason, Lesca? I assure you it’s an important trip and one I am going to make. Also, if I tell you the reason, you would have to swear you won’t tell anyone else. That is not up for argument. If you broke your word, it would forever change our relationship.”

Lesca stood near the table, startled at her husband’s declaration. She’d assumed the intended trip was something trivial that she would either accept or argue her husband out of. He had never, in their years together, implied that anything could harm their marriage. She vacillated between anger and worry. Elac, stone-faced, waited for her answer.

And waited. Silent minutes passed while she thought.

“All right, Elac,” she said, her voice matching her husband’s seriousness. “I swear before God I will tell no one, no matter what you tell me.”

He reached out to her. She held his hand and let him guide her to the chair next to his. He then took her other hand, holding both firmly.

“Lesca, Munmar is not a clansman. He’s a Narthani.”

She stared at her husband. “What—?”

He held her hands, as she tried to pull away. “He’s—a—Narthani, Lesca. We fought at the battle, and one of us could have killed the other. Then we were both exhausted and collapsed at the same time. Both of us were wounded, I more seriously than he. I passed out, and when I come back to consciousness, he had bound my wounds. Like I told you and the rest of the family, the medicants said if he hadn’t done that, I would have died.”

“Merciful God, Elac! You’re serious!? A Narthani? You brought a Narthani into our home and lied to all of us? How could you do that?”

“Listen!” Elac said, his voice rising and insistent. “He saved my life. After we won the battle, clansmen were going among the fallen Narthani and killing those still alive. Munmar would certainly have had the same fate. I couldn’t let that happen after he saved me. And the deaths, Lesca. You weren’t there. You didn’t see the rivers of blood, men screaming in agony—it was a scene beyond any of your worst nightmares. When I realized I might survive and come back to you and the children, I just wanted the killing to stop.

“Much later, when I talked with Munmar, he told me he had some of the same feelings. It also seemed to him a form of insanity that he and the other soldiers were so far from home, fighting people they didn’t know and who had done them no harm.

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