The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 25.1

Many centuries ago, K'haren was a place of peace and freedom. It was a time when the cycle was still young and all creatures would laugh and sing and celebrate every fifteenth full red moon in honour of their gods. Dragons, Dretho and dwarves alike and many other species (for I have only listed the ones starting with a D) would join hands, claws and paws. So when the Phraio, merely a few dozen people at the time, came to K'haren, telling their sad story of terror and flight, they were warmly welcomed. New bonds were formed and, for a while, everything went alright. Though, truth be told, not everybody wanted peace, some greedy people saw a potential for profit in war and their hearts were filled with hatred and disgust for all those who were not like them. It came as it had to come, one accident, an outburst of a poor and oppressed soul was used as an excuse to start a war that would cost way too many lives.

The torch's light flickered and made Tarlequin's face glow in a golden shine in the middle of the night, but there was nobody there to see it. His hand moved swiftly, filling the pages with words coming from deep inside him.

But already before that, a prophecy was spoken by one of the greatest foretellers of her time. Unfortunately, nobody listened to her, they all just wanted to believe in peace, prayed it would last if just they closed their eyes. You might wonder why this is the only or at least the first record of these events, the reason is that there lay a curse upon it. A curse that prohibited anybody from ever speaking about the prophecy, except for those who were old enough to remember it first being spoken by the foreteller herself. She made sure all those breaking this rule would die immediately. This curse was way stronger than anybody would have expected, seeing that magic was already slowly disappearing from K'haren at the time. But the reason it was so strong was that it was spoken by the very same person as the prophecy itself. Enraged by everybody's pretended deafness and their urge to ignore her warning, the foreteller made sure only those who had been close enough to trust her from the beginning would ever be warned.

A dear friend of her, and mine, was there with us that day. He was a wizard, much like her. He knew what she had done and he knew K'haren needed him, so he worked for seven full red moons until he finally figured out a way to break her spell. But it came with a cost. He could not just lift the curse, for it was too strong and too tightly connected with the prophecy. What he did instead was a deed he regretted for the rest of his life. The wizard made it possible for anybody to speak about the prophecy, but the first person who did so, despite not having been with the foreteller the day of the prophecy's origin, would have to die and, what nobody knew until it happened, join the army of the queen of the night.

Tarlequin looked up into the sky, embracing the blue moon's light. He realised that he not only pitied but truly missed Raf, a man he'd hardly known at all. Somehow, he'd just been way better a person than anybody, including Raf himself, had ever believed. With a sigh, Tarlequin returned to his work.

As time passed, the wizard regretted his spell more and more and he feared for the souls of the people in K'haren. He made it his quest to go to everybody and tell them about the prophecy and he also told them it were impossible for them to ever speak of it. In fact, there never was such a spell actually hindering them from talking about it, but because they believed so, nobody ever did speak of it. Everybody in K'haren knew, everybody except for the Phraio who refused to listen to an old man they thought was insane. There was also one other person who didn't know, a poor soul who had been so often mislead by others. He was on his way to talk to the wizard and find out the full truth when he, with the best intentions, made the curse strike him.

Still not knowing the full truth and being mislead once again, he believed the curse might also strike those he told about the prophecy. But in fact, it was only ever his life that was at risk. I myself didn't know that the curse had struck him, I knew it had been unleashed because, for the very first time, people sang along with the melody I had once created for the prophecy. As one of the eldest myself, I, too, have wandered the lands and told people, always singing and playing this song. But there is one thing I do not fully understand to this day. Despite wandering the land and warning people, I never ran into this man and seemingly, no other eldest did either, otherwise, he'd have been warned of the curse, and yet he, too, knew my song. He'd showed it to the Outcast before I did but I don't know who taught him. It must have been one of the eldest, for they all knew the song and could speak of it freely, but which one of them would not have warned him of the curse, putting his life at risk on purpose?

I shall have to find out for there might be an even bigger danger at hand, still remaining hidden. But for now,

Tarlequin paused, the branch he used as a pen hovering just above the page. What now? He didn't know. He rubbed his eyes and yawned tiredly before using his sleeve to wipe out the last lines. Then he sighed and wrote on.

Dear reader, this man was mislead and used by others, causing his soul to be sold to the queen of the night despite his best intentions. He wanted to make up for the past, wanted to be forgiven, and now he won't even be granted a proper death. But his role in the prophecy shall never be forgot, so let us all remember his name, it was Raf'ney-krush, for he was the bringer of peace. Though peace might not have arrived yet, without his part in this, it would never come again. But thanks to him, the Outcast has finally come to bring us all back together and hopefully save K'haren before there is enough hatred in it to allow the queen of the night to return with her army. For when that happens, all peace will be lost and this time, K'haren would be too weak to start anew after being cleansed. All life would vanish from it, allowing the Open Wound to grow from the southern sea to the Dragon Mountains, swallowing all that once was a home to joy and freedom.

When Tarlequin realised that the sun was rising, he quickly closed the book, brought it back to Mersha and snuck his way through the bunch of people to lay down for at least a short moment of rest before they'd travel on. As he climbed over people's bodies, his glance landed upon Kran and Nume who were huddled together for warmth in a corner of the tent. A gentle smile conquered his lips.

When he'd first met them, he'd made the same assumption as anybody who saw the two together did, but he'd now been with them for long enough to know that they truly were friends. Neither of them showed any of the symptoms young lovers usually would. Tarlequin was convinced that it was thanks to their deep friendship that they managed to get done with all that was suddenly asked from them.

Though it also made him worry, what would happen if ever they were separated? Would they break on their own? Or would they throw over all their plans and rules and take any risk just to be reunited? Well, whatever they'd do, he'd be there for them and help them, for he considered them to be his friends and he trusted them with his life.

// Who do you think taught Raf the song? And what would you do if you were separated from your best friend?