Wisdom Lost Read online

  Wisdom Lost

  Book Two of Pandemonium Rising

  By Michael Sliter

  For Katie.

  You tolerate me.

  Wisdom Lost

  Table of Contents

  Map of Ardia

  Map of Saiwen (Southern Continent) and Imsal (Northern Continent)

  What Came Before: Solace Lost, Book 1 of Pandemonium Rising

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Interlogue: The Birth of a Goddess

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Interlogue: Lust

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Interlogue: Greed

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Interlogue: Wrath

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Interlogue: Envy

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Interlogue: Gluttony

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Interlogue: Pride

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Interlogue: Sloth

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Interlogue: Ascension

  Epilogue

  Merigold's Journal (Appendix)

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright

  Map of Ardia

  Map of Saiwen (Southern Continent) and Imsal (Northern Continent)

  What Came Before: Solace Lost, Book 1 of Pandemonium Rising

  Fenrir de Trenton, a disgraced guardsman-turned-criminal, was not particularly good at his job. His most recent task—collecting the ring finger (this being the calling-card of his employer, The House) of a retired adjudicator—went seriously awry, so that an injured Fenrir was forced to flee into the wilderness after the mishap, eventually hoping to return to Rostane, the seat of the duchy of the same name.

  Merigold Hinter—serving girl from a small crossroads inn—dreamt of adventure and finding love, perhaps with her long-time crush, Saren. She has an unusual ability to draw energy from other people; it’s a subtle, near unconscious power. She was always careful, lest she draw the wrong kind of attention. One evening, a man—Fenrir—arrived quite late into her inn, stinking of the road. Fenrir, despite his trials, flirted with Meri. He spoke to her of the Plateau, the great fortress towering above Rostane. An exhausted Meri became lost in his stories, and drew too much energy from him, and thus drove him to near assault her. He was stopped by her father, who battered him down from behind.

  Waking up in a ditch, weak and concussed, Fenrir travelled back to Rostane, nervous about discussing his misadventures with his superiors. Indeed, Tennyson was upset at his failures, and, though Fenrir managed to talk himself out of any serious trouble, he lost his job as an enforcer for the organization and was told only that The House will have need of him elsewhere.

  Meanwhile, a despondent Merigold had a chance encounter with Saren. They kissed once, in the past, but nothing more had ever happened. She pushed for a date, and Saren agreed. Excited, Merigold sought out her best friend—a more experienced lover—and learned a good deal more about lovemaking.

  Fenrir, in the meantime, survived an assassination attempt, taking a wound to the shoulder. He was summoned by his father Darian, a merchant king of a trading empire. Fenrir, a constant disappointment who had run off to join the military in his youth, traded hard words with his father. He ended up with his father’s fingers piercing his already-injured shoulder and was ultimately disowned, stripped of his name.

  Merigold began her date with Saren, who took her for a moonlit walk. They shared a passionate kiss, and Meri decided that she wanted things to go further. However, after Saren took her to a secluded old trapper’s cabin, she found herself with her ankle twisted, her body covered in sweat and bug bites, trying in vain to put Saren off. Saren, however, motivated by his disgust for her father and his anger at Meri, abused and raped her. Though she tried to protect herself, Meri finds that she was unable to draw upon Saren’s energy. Her poorly-understood powers had failed her. Merigold was trapped for several weeks in the cellar of the cabin, periodically abused by Saren and two of his friends. She began to lose hope, questioning her life and religious beliefs.

  Emma Dram, once Fenrir’s lover and the first victim of his knife when he joined The House, was the handmaiden of Lady Escamilla. The current duke, perhaps manipulated by unknown political powers, was holding hostage nobles from across the four duchies in order to consolidate his own power. Emma observed, as always, the political happenings of the country while doing her best to serve her lady liege.

  When a recovered Fenrir showed up as part of a rescue attempt, Emma was furious and tries to assault him, to be stopped only by Fenrir’s quick reflexes and Lady Escamilla’s anger. The three worked their way through the servant passages of the great fortress, and met Morgyn, an urchin who previously tried to rob Fenrir. The disagreeable girl was tasked with leading them through the ruins below the Plateau. Though pursued, the companions managed their way through the ruins. Near the end of their escape, several creatures—primal and feral and pale—attacked the group. Fenrir recognized these creatures as twisted, insane humans.

  Saren, covered in blood and with murder on his mind, arrived at Merigold’s prison. She had finally procured a weapon—a long, rusty nail—and managed to evade Saren, trapping him in the cellar that had become her home. Overwhelmed by her freedom, she headed back to her village. However, she found that the village has been destroyed, corpses cast across the scene, flora blackened and decayed. She heard a bell ringing in the chapel and meets with the survivors of the decimation.

  Hafgan Iwan is a Wasmer, a humanoid race generally reviled by humans, and he also worked for The House. His efforts to assimilate with human culture have only ostracized him from both the Wasmer and humans. He met Fenrir and company, escorting them to a boat set aside for their escape. He ultimately tailed a highly suspect Morgyn. Hafgan found that she was working for a rival underground organization, Recherche Oletta, who had put the current duke in power by murdering his father. He overheard Morgyn being tasked with killing Lady Escamilla to make up for her own failures.

  Merigold, after meeting with the survivors (including one of the men who abused her), traveled back to her father’s inn. The young man followed her, sincerely apologizing, explaining that he had little choice. Merigold accepts his apology, but, at his touch, was overwhelmed, and she murdered him with her rusty nail.

  She found the same destruction at her father’s inn, bodies piled in the common room. A man arrived, drawn by the perception of great magical energy being used in the region. Cryden is a recruiter, a cautaton, a man who can sense magic. Cryden took a reluctant Merigold with him to Hunesa, one of the four duchies, on their way to Cryden’s order of mages. Meri had her own plans, however, realizing through her conversations with Cryden that her father may yet live.

  Lady Escamilla (and Emma’s) escape from the Plateau forces the Rostanian military to mobilize early to take the four duchies of Ardia, starting with an invasion of Florens to the south. Hafgan is sent to infiltrate the military, allowing
himself to become conscripted into the segregated Wasmer unit. The Wasmer, a caste-based culture, choose their warleaders based on military prowess. Hafgan, having been trained to be an elite warrior priest before leaving his own people, defeated the current warleader Siarl, becoming the equivalent of a lieutenant in the Rostanian military. He gained access to military council meetings, and observed as the Rostanian leaders lied and manipulated so that their forces believed that they are fighting a just war.

  Fenrir, Emma, and their companions arrived at Brockmore, one of Lady Escamilla’s holdings. She had been gathering her own forces, stripping her many holdings of soldiers and men. She held a war council, and Emma began to show some initiative despite her low standing, confronting a powerful Yetranian chaplain who was attempting to control the proceedings. Later, Morgyn sneaked into the manor in the dark of night and begged Escamilla for protection. Escamilla granted it, and Fenrir was sent to Hunesa to recruit a mercenary force to bolster the Army of Brockmore.

  Merigold, holed up in an inn in Hunesa with Cryden as he sought passage overseas, realized she was pregnant, and determined to rid herself of the child once she recruited a mercenary force to help find her father. In these misguided attempts, Merigold met some bad men who attempted to steal her little money and abuse her. She stabbed one in the gut and managed to awaken her dormant powers, shredding one of her attackers into bloody bits. Fenrir, hoping to recruit the same mercenaries, walked in just afterward with the mercenary captain, and saw Merigold fall to the ground amidst the blood and gore. Fenrir returned to Brockmore, Meri and a new army in his possession.

  Hafgan continued his subterfuge within the Rostanian military, but was dealing with this own problems. He had begun training other assimilated Wasmer, who were derisively called budredda (filth) by traditionalist Wasmer. This conflict built over the weeks, and the traditionalists and budredda brawled when Hafgan is gone. He arrived just as a budredda was killed. Fenrir took control, protecting his men and taking on the budredda title as a badge of honor instead of a slur.

  Merigold awoke amidst the Army of Brockmore, and began to forge a paternal relationship with a surprisingly kind Fenrir. She met the same Yetranian chaplain who had argued with Emma, and found the man to be empathetic and understanding. He recounted the story of the rise of Yetra, the warring powers of Harmony and Pandemonium, and how Yetra’s own struggles forged her into an instrument of Harmony. He gave a desperate Merigold hope and convinced her to keep her child and raise it in Harmony.

  The Rostanian military marched to Florens, and Escamilla’s forces arrived soon after. Emma found her lot in the world improved, as she spoke with the authority of Lady Escamilla. She witnessed a great battle between the Rostanians and the outnumbered, combined forces of Florens and Brockmore. Brockmore’s mercenaries unleashed magical forces, and but for a twist of fate and a betrayal, they would have won the battle.

  Hafgan and his expendable Wasmer were sent on a mission to guard a mysterious compound southeast of Florens, full of terrible howls and other strange happenings. The same night of the Battle of Florens, the traditionalist Wasmer staged a coup, and Hafgan’s budredda were hard-pressed to fight off their brethren. During the battle, creatures burst forth from the compound, these being pale, feral beings who interrupt the coup. All the Wasmer banded together as these creatures overtake them, as they serve as a hurdle between the creatures and the Army of Brockmore. Ultimately, the well-learned Hafgan realized that these are gwagen, Feral: soulless men who have been warped by magics, harbingers of worse things to come. He determined that he must return to Wasmer territory to warn his people of this threat.

  After a confrontation with Emma, Fenrir was sent to kill the duke. It was a suicide mission. Fenrir’s small force managed to cause a distraction and attack the inn where the duke is staying. Two of the duke’s advisors used an unknown power to immobilize Fenrir and his remaining soldiers. Fenrir managed—through a subtle power he had previously manifested—to briefly resist the magic and drive his sword through the chest of the duke. The advisors did not seem overly concerned, hinting that they might be the true power in Rostane. One caused Fenrir to lose consciousness, additionally hinting that they might have caused his original disgrace. Fenrir was presumably made a captive.

  Escamilla’s forces decided to withdraw, hoping that Fenrir would be successful in slaying the duke and buy them time to consolidate and rally. Emma learned that she is, in fact, Escamilla’s legally-dictated heir. Morgyn, ostensibly adopted by Escamilla, slumbered in the corner of the command tent while the captains argue about next steps. The army, in the middle of the night, came under attack by the same Feral who had torn through Hafgan and his Wasmer. During the disarray, Morgyn stabbed Escamilla in her back and ran off. With her lady liege unlikely to survive, Emma found herself elevated to being one of the richest, most powerful women in the country—commanding an army that was in shambles and in desperate need of succor.

  Merigold was also caught up in the battle near the baggage train. She was attacked by a terribly injured, but still strong Feral, and sought to draw energy from it. She found the creature empty. A human bereft of life force, bereft of soul. Instead, she sought power within herself, and managed to defeat the creature. But, the power that she drew on had come from her unborn child, which she lost. Soon, reunited with Cryden, Merigold considered the shambles of her life and the damage done to her and her loved ones by magic, concluding that it was her role to wipe magic from the earth.

  And Merigold’s father, Ragen Hinter, found himself in an unknown prison, completely bereft of light. He was confronted by a beautiful woman, a woman who had seen millennia pass and civilizations rise and fall. She was the goddess Yetra, and, calling Ragen her sweetling, she began to sap him of his lifeforce.

  Prologue

  “Good morning, my sweetling.

  “Oh, that’s right. You would have no way of knowing whether it is morning or night down here. I can assure you that it is indeed a stunningly beautiful morning. The sun is cresting the hills, glowing golden across the sky. The birds are singing lovely songs, filling the air with glee. Oh, I wish you could see and hear it.

  “But, that is not to be, and I do truly apologize. The darkness, I’ve found, will help you recover from this ordeal. Ancient teachings—has it really been long enough for them to be considered ancient?—originally suggested the recuperating power of the sun, but I have found, over time, that those left in the sun experience great sensitivity to the light, some finding the pain unbearable. This darkness seems cruel, but it is, in fact, a kindness.

  “Other kindnesses? Well, I would give you a chair, but soon you will not care about such things…. Oh, let it not be said that I am cruel. I shall send for a chair. When it becomes soiled, I will burn it. There are always more chairs, after all. Yes. There are always more.

  “What is happening to you? Ah, my sweetling. You know, you have a weak heart. Have you felt a pain in your left arm, on occasion? A weakness throughout? Your body is so strong, but your heart is slowly failing you. There is nothing that you could have done. The ancient physicians would say that it is hereditary. Some things you are born with, things given to you by your parents. Sometimes, such things are gifts. Sometimes, they are curses.

  “Did you feel that, just now, beneath the touch of my hand? That was your heart healing. A heart consists of four chambers, and a wall was weak. I drew upon existing tissue to strengthen it. I cannot claim that as a kindness, however. No, that is simply my efforts at preservation. You see, I need your body as strong as your maenen. The two are intrinsically linked, and when I drain your maenen, your body can also suffer. It takes me such little effort to heal you, and you can provide so much more to me if you stay healthy.

  “Think of this place like a farm, designed to feed multitudes. Unfortunately, this food is of a different variety. Some of us feed on maenen. Your power, your lifeforce. You, my sweetling. You have a strong maenen, contained within a powerful and rejuvenating nerring.
You, if we must continue with the food metaphor, are a delicacy.

  “Some harvest their crop immediately, leaving nothing left. Uprooting the plant, if you will. But, in my many, many years, I have learned that a crop will continue to yield a great deal more with patience. Although, there will be slightly less yield each time.

  “Yes, you will begin to lose yourself over time. Right now, you are articulate, though tired, and can hold a complex conversation with me. You have thoughts, hopes, fears, memories. You shouted the name of your daughter and I experienced her. Merigold. Such a beautiful name. I knew a Merigold once, more years ago than you could conceive of. I wish your daughter were here, both to comfort you and also to serve as an additional delicacy, as it were. It is often the case that, if you have such a strong maenen, she likely will, as well. It depends on the mother. With you being such a handsome man, even at your age, I imagine your wife was very beautiful.

  “But yes, you will begin to forget her, your Merigold. And your beautiful wife. Your old life. It will be a small mercy, I’m afraid. Eventually, you will know only the basest of emotions. Think of a predatory animal. Hunger, over time, will become your motivation. You will hunger for food and lust for coupling. You will feel as if even I am a threat to you, and your natural aggression will be multiplied at an astounding rate. Your anger. Your hatred. Those emotions that have been obscured by your humanity will be laid bare to the world.

  “But, we have some time until that happens. We should cherish this time together.

  “What is that? Why? Why am I doing this? That is a loaded question, my sweetling, and I’ve not the strength to discuss it on such a beautiful morning. Perhaps, once I’ve enjoyed the feel of the sun on my face, I will be able to tell you a story.

  “I suppose that I have stalled enough, though I truly do enjoy your company. You are one of the few. I can feel your hatred, but I can also feel your love.

  “Shall we begin?”