Queen Alycia stared at the old man as if she just recognized him for the first time.
“You once said that everything in life is uncertain,” stated the queen. “I remember that day very well. It was the day that I banished you from Morada. I asked you to pledge your life that my husband still lived when Karaza returned and said that he found Avalar’s remains. You said that there was no certainty in life and that you could never make such a pledge.”
“That is what I said,” agreed the old man. “I always felt that Avalar was alive, but there is always uncertainty.”
“But you make the pledge today for the identity of my daughters?” asked the queen.
“I do,” nodded Garl. “I can find no purchase for uncertainty in this matter. Alahara and Alastasia are alive and well.”
“Or were a while ago,” frowned Malid.
The queen’s head snapped to glare at the Head Elder. “What do you mean by that?” she demanded. “Speak.”
“The girls escaped prison,” Malid said haltingly. “The army is out searching for them now.”
Suddenly, the vine covered doors shook wildly. Malid and Volox looked at the doors and immediately moved to the furthest wall to be clear of any fighting. Garl rose and helped the queen to her feet. He led her to the throne and seated her.
“What is going on?” asked Queen Alycia.
“That will be the Great Deceiver,” frowned Garl. “Karaza has come to reclaim you as his prize.”
“Prize?” questioned the queen as the door rattled violently.
“He has been using you, Alycia,” sighed Garl. “He was always scrambling for more power. His control over you is his greatest accomplishment.”
“Surely, you are just reliving old conflicts,” the queen shook her head. “Karaza is not a violent man.”
“You are sadly mistaken, Alycia,” Garl said softly as the doors exploded in a shower of wood. “In a few moments, either I or Karaza will be dead. If it is me that dies, remember that I love you as a daughter. I always have.”
Garl moved swiftly away from the queen. Karaza stormed into the room with a dozen mages in tow. His dark eyes glowed as he glared at Garl.
“You have interfered one too many times,” spat Karaza.
“Do you really need an army to support you?” goaded the old man as he nodded at the additional mages who had entered the room.
“I will use what is available to me,” retorted Karaza. “You can use what is available to you.”
“Stop this,” shouted the queen. “I will not have violence in this palace.”
“He has brashly violated the law,” retorted Karaza. “Even now he has probably filled your mind with nonsense. Death is the only punishment fit for him.”
“I forbid it,” countered the queen. “Desist immediately.”
“You have already authorized it,” snapped Karaza. “Do not forget your own words. You told me to do whatever I needed to do to silence him.”
“I said that I forbid it,” the queen said adamantly. “Depart from my presence immediately. All of you get out!”
The mages that had accompanied Karaza were obviously confused. Their brows knitted as they stared at the queen and then Karaza. Garl saw the confusion and pressed on it.
“The Head of the Society of Mages should be the strongest in the land,” Garl said loudly. “Those who would help him defeat an old man would be guilty of a heinous crime unless it was sanctioned by the queen. Well it is not sanctioned. Obey your queen and depart.”
The mages fidgeted. One of them backed quietly out the door. When it was noticed that he was missing, the other mages fled.
“Now what is available to you is slightly less than what is available to me,” grinned Garl.
Karaza glanced at the two elders. Garl saw his glance and shook his head.
“I was not referring to them or anyone else,” Garl declared. “I was referring to the power within you. It always was inferior to mine.”
Karaza’s hand shot up and sent a force bolt streaming at the old man. The shields surrounding Garl dissipated its force, but the power of it still shook the old man. Garl glanced up at the tree limbs above the throne room. He stared at them as Karaza unleashed another force bolt.
Sweat began forming on Garl’s forehead. While his shields were holding, he had underestimated the power of his rival. Another blast rocked the old man, and Garl knew his time was limited. He concentrated on the Royal Tree and smiled as he saw it start to change.
Karaza saw Garl’s smile. He threw another force bolt and then looked up to see what the old man was looking at. He screamed when he saw the tendrils coming towards him. He tried to move, but it was too late. Long, thick vines wrapped around Karaza’s arms. Others descended and began to wrap around the mage’s body. In mere moments, Karaza’s body was completely encased in vines. At Garl’s command, the vines retreated upward, carrying the body with it. When it was all over, one could see the outline of the mage’s body where it had become a permanent bulge in the bark of the tree.
Queen Alycia swooned in her throne. Garl hurried over to her, his power exhausted. He knelt by the queen’s side and held her hand. The queen smiled down at the old man’s head.
“He was doing something to me, wasn’t he?” asked Queen Alycia.
“I suspect that he was, but I do not know what hold he had over you,” replied Garl. “How do you feel?”
“Like a great weight has been lifted from me,” smiled the queen. “I no longer feel despair or hatred. How could this have happened?” she asked. “How could I have not known that I was changed?”
“I believe that he struck in the moment of your greatest despair,” guessed Garl. “You certainly would have been vulnerable at that time. He was clever in taking things slowly. If you had changed too dramatically or suddenly, people would have suspected something. As it was, even I was fooled. Even when you banished me, I figured it was my fault. That is why I did not protest it. In a sense, he defeated both of us. No wonder he chose to openly confront me now. He must have thought me an old fool who would run and hide. That is what I did the last time.”
“Well you will not run this time, Garl,” smiled the queen. “I need you by my side. I want your help in finding my daughters.”
“They are gone,” frowned Garl.
“What do you mean gone?” the queen asked with alarm. “No. I want to see them. Why would they leave?”
“They have gone to bring Avalar home,” answered Garl as he held the queen’s hand between both of his.
“They know where his remains are?” asked the queen. “I asked Karaza for the location when he found them, and he said he could not remember the name of the place.”
“No, Alycia,” smiled Garl. “They have gone to bring your husband home, not his remains. Avalar is alive.”
“How do you know?” the queen asked skeptically. “Are you placing all of your faith in the scroll?”
“Do you remember the carozit that the girls held when they visited you?” asked Garl.
“Yes,” nodded the queen. “They seemed quite fond of it.”
“It is magical,” explained Garl. “When members of a family hold it together, it tells how far away the next relative is. At Etta, both girls held it and it showed that their relative was in Morada. That was you. When you touched it, the balls flew apart. Do you remember that?”
“I do,” nodded the queen. “We were all so startled that we dropped it.”
“The balls flew apart because Avalar is far away,” continued Garl.
“But how can we be sure that it is really Avalar?” asked Queen Alycia.