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***
People's Palace. Garden of Life.
- Farewell, Father Rahl. I have no need to watch your agony. I am sure you will die as it is," The Seeker turned and walked away from the still living Darken Rahl.
- Richard! - Rahl shouted after him. - Richard!
The old wizard was alone with Darken Rahl. He watched as transparent fingers of smoke wrapped around the white robes, binding the failed lord of the world tightly. Zedd stepped forward. Blue eyes immediately shifted to the old man towering above him.
- You have defeated me, Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander. But your victory is not final.
- Are you that arrogant, even to your last breath? - Zeddicus smiled weakly.
Ral smiled back at him:
- Tell me, who is he?
- A Seeker,' Zedd replied, shrugging his shoulders perplexed.
Darken Ral, struggling through the pain, laughed hoarsely.
- He's your son, isn't he? Well, at least I was defeated by a man born with a gift, not a peasant upstart. I know you're his father.
Zedd shook his head, his lips curled in a sad smile.
- He is my grandson," Zedd replied.
- You're lying! - The blond man grimaced in pain. - Why did you have to cast a net over him, hiding his father's name?
- I only put the net around Richard because I wanted to hide the name of the blue-eyed bastard who raped his mother and gave him life.
Darken Rahl's eyebrows rose.
- Your daughter was killed by a quod! Father told me!
- Just a little trick. I had to keep her out of harm's way," Zedd said darkly. - You didn't even know who she was, but you abused her anyway. And without wanting to, you gave her happiness. You left her Richard.
- I'm his father?! - Rahl whispered in horror.
- Yes," confirmed the wizard. - When you raped my daughter, I knew I couldn't punish you. I wanted only one thing: to protect and comfort her. We travelled to Westland. There my daughter met a young widower who had a little boy in his arms after his wife's death. George Cypher was a good, kind man. I was proud to have such a son-in-law. George knew the truth, but that didn't stop him from loving Richard like his own son. But he had no idea who I was. It was safely hidden with a spell. I might have hated Richard for being your son. But was the little boy guilty of his father's crimes? I loved him for who he was. Don't you think he's a real man? You've been defeated by the very heir you dreamed of. An heir born with a gift! That's rare. Richard Cypher is the true Seeker. The blood of the Rahl mixed with the blood of the Zorander. His temper and violent tendencies from the Rals are balanced by his capacity for love, understanding and forgiveness from the Zoranders.
Around Darken Rahl, the black shadows of Oden's magic flickered. Squirming in pain, he became more and more transparent. Like smoke.
- And yet I have won! - Rahl whispered one last time. - To think that the House of Rahl had become akin to the House of Zorander! And yet he is my heir. So in a way I have won," Darken Rahl wheezed.
Zedd shook his head.
- You lost. You lost on all counts.
Light and darkness mingled and swirled in a roaring vortex. The earth shook. Black as tar, the magical sand was sucked into the maelstrom that swirled over the abyss. The sounds of the world of the living and the realm of the dead merged into a single, terrifying howl.
Zedd could hear the rumbling, hollow voice of Darken Rahl.
- Read the prophecies, old man. From them you will learn that all is not yet lost for me. I am the mediator.
An unbearably bright flash blinded Zedd for a moment. The wizard covered his eyes with his hand. A sheaf of white-hot rays pierced the glass roof and shot into the sky. A second beam fell into the black depths. There was a shrill screech. The air shook with unbearable heat. The Garden of Life lit up with a dead-white glow.
There was silence.
And in the Garden of Life there was only the old wizard and no one else. And the Tyrant was gone.
What no one knew at the time was that Darken Rahl was not completely dead. He had been given another life. In another world, in another land, and in another body....
Darken Rahl.
The first thing I realised when I woke up was that I wasn't in the Garden of Life or the Keeper's abode.
I was in some strange room that was completely unfamiliar to me.
It looked more like my witch's old cabin in the swamp. It was made of grey stone, and it had a wooden roof, not a thatched one.
I was about to get up. But with a pain in my head, I leaned back on the hard surface. And a cold stream of water came over me.
I realised it wasn't my body. I hadn't even started to look round. It all came from the memory of the young man whose mind I had replaced.
His name was Darken, like mine, and that was probably the only thing we had in common. The only thing he inherited from his parents. He didn't remember their faces, but he remembered that it was his name, given to him after he was born.
He's an orphan, or rather, judging by the state of things, I am.This little house was a haven not only for this lad of ten, but also for his friend, with whom he begged and even sometimes stole food in a city like Talos, which is in the south of Essos. It's a vast continent, as Darken knew from the stories of the peddlers who've been here.
To think, this body that belonged to Darken Rahl... STOLE AND BROWNED?!
It's a good thing Zeddicus doesn't know that. I wouldn't have survived this shame if he knew about it....
- Are you awake yet? - I heard a "familiar" child's voice.
- Yes, but my head hurts," my body replied.
I turned around and saw that a kid in a shirt and trousers was standing near the door. They were dirty yellow and worn. He didn't have boots or any other shoes on his feet. Though, really, how could a street kid and a beggar have any?
It was Rhys: the familiar red hair, the same unusual scarlet eyes, but that was the end of his unusualness, and he looked like a normal kid, his skin a little brown.
I need to get the most out of him, perhaps the "past me" just wasn't interested in the world around him? Though I can sense in the magical background that this land is not familiar to me. Perhaps it is another unknown continent of my homeworld? Perhaps.
But why do I get the feeling that something is not right here?
- "Bull hit you so well, I thought I'd be without a partner," the guy, smiling, approached me.
If I hadn't been in such a pitiful state, I would have nailed him to the ground with a spell and made him lick my feet for such insolence....
Though as far as I can sense, I don't have much magic in me. It's there, but the magical core isn't well developed, and there's something odd about it. Or is it pathological? I've never seen anything like it before. There's something familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
- The red-haired man continued to say, "You were beaten up, and you were almost killed, but they took away almost all the food you stole.
- How many were there? - I began to remember the episode that had happened recently for this body, and to be angry about it. - Do you know where Bull and his gang live?
- Yes, of course I do," Rhys nodded. He didn't quite understand me, but he was eager to tell me, had you forgotten? He and a dozen other freaks like him have settled down near the old warehouse. They have a den there. Why do you want to know?
- You'll find out later.
My stomach was as empty as the heads of most of my subjects... former subjects. I'm no longer the ruler of an empire, but a beggar.
- Take this. It's all we have left," Rhys held out a piece of stale bread.
I took it silently and looked at him. Darken Rahl now eating stale bread and living such a miserable existence. What have I come to?
I can't leave it like this. I am Darken Rahl! I was born to rule all the lands of the world! I am the strongest wizard in the world! I will surely take revenge on that Bull, and I will also regain my former glory, no longer at the bottom of society....
But first I'll gain strength, and then I'll take my revenge! I'll get my revenge!
The first thing I decided to do was to eat this bread. I used magic to make it a little softer. It was hard, but it worked, and my fingers were sore afterwards. That's normal considering the boy had never done magic before. But I'll fix that, I'm the greatest mage of all three lands and I know a lot to become the strongest mage again.
After "lunch", or "breakfast", Rhys lay down to rest, and I began to think about many things. First of all, how I was going to get more food, and then how I was going to deal with the gang that had almost killed, or had killed, Darken. Even though I didn't really care about the showdown in the slums... I did. But now I've been the victim of one myself. And these guys won't let go of me or Rhys.
Reece... I could use some followers. He's a child of my biological age, which means I can easily get him on my side and make him a loyal vassal. I don't know if he has mage abilities yet, but I can teach him swordsmanship in the future. Although the sword wasn't my favourite weapon, my father instilled many of the traditions of the Rals, including swordsmanship, in me from a young age. Thank you, father, for that teaching, I will use it.
Well, those are the immediate plans for the future, but for now I need to live in the present and survive....
***
Who would have thought Darken Rahl would stoop to robbery and murder for a handful of coins? No one! But it happened.
Not my most pleasant acts, and it has nothing to do with morality. It has to do with the fact that I did it myself.
It's been eight days since I've been in this world.
And in those eight days, I've finally settled into this new world. Yes, it's not the same world I lived in, but a completely different one, though in many ways similar to my past world.
The politics, the people, the history, the culture all have many similarities to my old world of different eras. There are differences though, take those Valyrians I now partially relate to. After all, only they have violet eyes, and I got my dark hair from my unnamed father. I vaguely remember "my" mother, but she definitely had hair as white as snow. Who she was, I don't know, after she "left" or died, I ended up in the home of an old lady who was already raising Reece, a homeless kid like me. She died six months ago and we stayed in her house.
My appearance was unusual, with violet eyes, raven-wing hair, and pale skin, but my features were correct, and if my intuition was correct, I'd grow up to be a handsome boy. And if I don't, the magic of Augmentation will help me. Yes, I have it now, as well as Damage magic. Just like my son Richard. Perhaps it's a gift from the Creator and Keeper, perhaps from the local gods, perhaps from the Valyrian inheritance of my ancestors. Still, I became very curious about what they were capable of. I was particularly interested in two questions, about their dragons and about a possible inheritance in their former lands. That peninsula that the Valyrians left in shambles is quite close to Tolos.
I have gathered a lot of different information about this world lately, especially about the continent I currently inhabit. I have succeeded in many things, and now I even know how to rise from the bottom of this society.
For that I need magic, which I'm already developing, and my power is growing every day. Also loyal people, so far it's only Rhys, but he's almost prayed on me for the last "successful hunts", and he knows I'm a mage. Thanks to my tricks, we've made a lot of money and food.
For example, my first successful attempt at using magic to steal was pretty dirty. On the evening of the day after my awakening, Rhys and I found a tavern frequented by merchants of all colours, and in one of the alleys a drunken merchant was struck on the head by a stone that had fallen on him from the roof. It crumpled almost all of his head, and left us with a bag of coins on his body. A little interaction with the element of earth helped quite a bit there. We didn't have to get our hands dirty then. The next day, we stole a lot of food from a local rich man's warehouse. I was able to perform the Fire Chain Spell in that state. That ancient spell that was forbidden by all sides of the conflict because of its monstrousness and unpredictability. No one has used it since the Great War, though my father and I knew of it and learnt it in our time. True, I was now using the two amulets I had made for it as crutches. But it was worth it.
As a result, we had a rich booty every day, I taught Reece about hygiene, we also bought proper clothes and boots, and weapons. A pair of daggers for each of us and one good short sword. With our height and the lack of body practice I'd had in the past, big two-handed or two-and-a-half swords would only get in the way.
And so it was the eighth day of my stay here, and Reece and I began to act on our 'revenge' plan on that head of the small gang called 'Bull'. I bought some of the herbs I'd bought, some I'd gathered myself when I got out of town, and I'd made some potions and poisons.
According to the scouting I'd done with magic, he had as many as twenty men under him. And then they had two more prisoners, a boy and a girl a year or two older than us. It didn't matter much, though.
Under cover of invisibility, I sneaked into their den before dawn and put a strong sleeping pill in all their drinks except water. They'd been drinking heavily the night before, so they'd need something to drink in the morning to keep from dying of headaches and hangovers.
So that's what happened. Everyone but the two guys who were on guard for the prisoners fell asleep for a long time. Reece and I slit the throats of the remaining two from behind.
I left Reece to watch over the prisoners and talk to them about who they were and why they were being held by these two. I went to the sleeping idiots to collect the spoils. They would die anyway, and I could use their hearts and some other important organs for new potions and spells.
And so, when I had dealt with the bodies of my former enemies, Rhys came up to me and told me about these two.
Okris was the son of a fisherman, his father was dead and he was enslaved by his relative's debts. First he was a slave in Meereen, then he was resold to another lord, but his ship was wrecked in a storm and he was washed ashore, where he was picked up by the Bull gang. He seems a clever lad," I concluded when I had a personal interview with him. He's not only smart, but he's also handsome, Valyrian in appearance, with platinum hair and blue eyes and skin as pale as bone. Rich ladies like that sort of thing. He could be made a spy in some rich house, if he could. Of course he will. It's just that my plans may change.
Nyssa - that was the name of the girl who was two years older than me now - was the daughter of a hunter who was killed by the slave traders who took her as a slave, good with a bow. But as she confessed, she doesn't much like killing animals. They're "cute and cuddly", so her father often beat her for saying that. And that's when I realised I'd stumbled upon a treasure. It's a shame she has no one left from her parents, but she could be made into a prototype Mord-Sith. Her pure and innocent eyes still shine with kindness and hope despite her experiences. So that's good for me.
It looks like I'll soon have the necessary power to take over in the city, if things continue to go smoothly....
To be continued...