‘Why did you want us here tonight, Wyrd?’ said Kaelin.
She sighed. ‘Look around you. Soak in these mountains, the silence and the beauty of the lake. Draw in the air, fresh and cold from the peaks, and scented now with the early flowers of spring. This is the land. As it should be. Carry it with you in your hearts.’
‘You wanted us to fight the evil, Wyrd,’ said Kaelin, ‘and yet now you seem sad that Bael has agreed to send us south.’
‘Of course I am sad, clansman. The Rigante are dear to me. They mean more to me than life. Now many will die.’ Her head drooped and she swung away to stare at the lake. ‘Bael was right, you know. I have been wrong. I sensed there was danger and I believed it to be the Moidart. It hurts me to my soul to know that Rigante will fight alongside the man. He is detestable to me. Were he merely a Varlish lord I could despise him for his cruelty and his malice. But he is not. He is of the blood of Connavar and Bane, just as you are, Ravenheart. That makes his evil all the worse in my eyes. Now this monster is to be a champion for the Rigante.’
She shook her head and fell silent. Then she turned back to them. ‘I asked you here not just so that you could feel the peace and beauty of this sacred land. You are about to enter a war. It is often said that war brings out the best and the worst in men. This war will be vile, and even the strongest will be changed by it. War makes beasts of men. The Rigante must not become beasts. The magic of this land is weak enough. War will drain it further. The more it is drained, the more dreadful will be the deeds of the warriors. The coming horror will stain the souls of all who take part in it. The worms of hatred and malice will gnaw at your minds. You will see evil deeds, and you will feel what you believe to be righteous rage swelling in your hearts. Such righteous rage is a lie. See it for what it is. A deceiver, a trick to allow us to become as vile as those we fight. If the Source wills that you both survive these coming days, try to ensure that you will return here with no shame upon your souls. Be Rigante and follow your hearts.’
‘Where will you be, Dweller?’
‘Tomorrow I will be far away. The day after that I will be here once more, ready to take Feargol to a place of destiny.’
‘Will he be safe there?’ asked Kaelin.
‘No, Ravenheart. For those blessed with his gift there is no safety to be found in the world.’
‘When will he be brought back?’
‘He will not be coming back. Fear not. He is to be raised and tutored by a friend of mine, the man who taught me the Way. He will grow to manhood in a land full of magic, where the people hold to the spirits of the earth. It is a wonderful land, Ravenheart. Feargol’s destiny is to help preserve it.’
‘Are the Varlish there?’ asked Rayster.
‘Not yet, but they will find it. They will seek to dig in its earth for minerals and metals, to tear up the land for timber and wealth. It is their way. However, that is not a problem for this day. Our problem is the Seidh lord and his minions.’
‘You think we can beat them?’ asked Kaelin.
‘We must, Ravenheart.’
‘How can men defeat a Seidh god?’
‘As long as he does not return to the flesh he is merely a force of small magic. If ever he walks the earth he will be unstoppable. With a wave of his hand he could destroy armies. His body would be impervious to weapons of base metal. Swords would not cut him, musket balls would not pierce his flesh.’
‘And this is why he is being brought to the north,’ said Kaelin, ‘to return to the flesh?’