On the evening of the third day, they made camp in the shadow of one of the crystal towers. It bore some resemblance to the work of the Old Ones, but it seemed to be the product of different sensibility, one not exactly theirs. Inscribed on the crystal were strange runes, of the type that Kormak had vague memories of.
When he paused to consider them, he realised that they were not his memories but Razhak’s. They seemed to be becoming stronger the closer he got to Tanyth. He had looked upon these towers before and once he had understood the mystical significance of each and every inscription. He felt that he could do so again if only he looked at them long enough and hard enough.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked around to see that Olivia was looking at him. “Sir Kormak,” she said. “Is something wrong? You have been looking at that pillar for ten minutes now.”
Kormak came out of his reverie. He had not realised that he’d been standing there for so long overwhelmed by the fugue of memories triggered by the sight of the pillars.
“Razhak has been this way,” he said. “He came this way many times. It is like coming home for him.”
“We shall see to it that it is the last time he does so,” Olivia said.
“Let us hope so,” Kormak said.
“You have not come so far to fail now,” she said. “Have courage, Guardian.”
He was not sure that he could exactly explain to her what happened or that he wanted to. It was an odd thing to have the memories of a demon inside his mind. He wondered if this had ever happened to any Guardian before. It most likely had. There were very few things new in this world.
Even as they stood there looking at each other, a voice spoke. The words seemed to come out of the air and it took Kormak a few moments to realise that they were emerging from the pillar itself. They had a hauntingly familiar quality and once again he felt, if only he listened hard enough, he might come to understand them. He cocked his head to one side and tried hard to concentrate. He laid his hand on the crystal and it seemed to vibrate in time to the words.
“What are these things?” Kormak asked.
“Some of the sages think the pillars channelled magical energy across the land, focused the ley lines of magic so that it made the deserts bloom and springs flow. Others think it formed a barrier against the Old Ones. Some say they were created by the Old Ones as part of their campaign against the Ghul. No one knows. So much knowledge has been lost.”
“Razhak knows.”
“He might be the only one left in the world who does now,” Olivia said.
For a moment, Kormak felt a strange sense of sympathy with the being he hunted. What must it be like to be the last of your kind, to remember things no one else remembered, to know things no one else knew?
The voices in the air kept gibbering their incomprehensible nonsense, as if ancient spirits were trying to communicate warnings to those who could not understand.
“Those are not hills,” said Prince Luther, “they are ruins.”
Kormak could see that he was right. What at first glance looked like rocky hills were, in fact, piles of rubble, the tumbled down remains of gargantuan structures. They ran as far as the horizon. The city of Sunhaven could have fitted into one small corner of Tanyth.
“How are we going to find the Ghul?” Olivia asked.
“I know where he is going,” Kormak said.
“You can remember that.”
“The spell-engines are at the centre, at the geomantic focus of the city. I will know it when I see it.”
The chief of the retainers walked over. He looked embarrassed but determined. “Sire, the men have asked me to remind you of our agreement. We have seen you to the outskirts of the lost city. They will proceed no further.”
Prince Luther stared at him. “I will pay each man who accompanies us a purse of solars, imperial weight.”
The soldier nodded as if he had expected this. “Dead men spend no gold, sire. And the lads have families and women. We have agreed among ourselves. But I will put your offer to them and see what they have to say. Gold can be wonderfully persuasive.”
Luther nodded as if he had expected this answer. “You have fulfilled your obligations to me admirably, Benjamin. Wait for us here for three days. If we have not returned by then return to Sunhaven and tell the major domo of my house that if we have not returned in a moon, the rites must be spoken in the family crypt. My father should be informed. He may wish to preside over them.”
Benjamin nodded. “It shall all be done according to your wishes, sire.”
He stumped away. Luther looked at Kormak. “It seems we are on our own.”
“It is what you expected, is it not?”
“Yes but now the moment of truth has arrived I find I cannot quite face it with the equanimity that I expected.”
“You do not need to go on if you don’t want to. You have come further than most men would.”
“I do want to go on,” said Luther. “But I find that I am afraid.”
“At least you are brave enough to admit it.”
Luther laughed. “I admire your skill with the paradoxical phrase, Guardian.” He looked at his sister. “How about you Olivia, will you go on?”
Kormak has the sense that if she refused to go on, Luther would stay behind also. Remaining to protect his sister would give him the excuse to do so while allowing him to retain his self-respect. Kormak had seen many men at these delicate moments before. The whole pattern of people’s lives could be altered by such decisions and they came and went with such speed.
Olivia appeared to be giving the matter serious consideration but Kormak knew she had already made up her mind. “Yes. I want to see the end of this and I want to see the heart of the city.”
Benjamin returned. “The lads will accompany you in return for the increased payment. They would probably have come anyway. They feel safer close to the Guardian’s sword and your sister’s magic.”
“It is alchemy,” Olivia said. “Not magic.”
Benjamin’s respectful nod hinted at the fact that he had no idea of the difference.
Luther deflated a little. “Well, that’s it then. We go on.” He sounded disappointed and afraid.
Kormak shrugged. “Mount up then and let us be away.”
They rode through the streets. The city looked as if an army of giants had stormed through it, kicking down buildings, setting them alight. Some of the stonework was blackened and cracked. Statues had been defaced. Shards of broken runic crystal lay everywhere.
“This army resisted the Old Ones for centuries but the First Empire destroyed it in a year,” said Luther.
“The Old Ones were not really trying,” Kormak said. “It was a game they played to while away the time. They do not think or set goals as mortals do.”
When the words came out, Kormak knew they were true. The knowledge was a mixture of Razhak’s and his own.
“They were thorough,” said Olivia.
“Solareon brooked no opposition to his rule.” Kormak said. “He was a proud, cruel man.”
“But a great one,” said Luther.
“A great mage certainly,” said Olivia. Her tone made it clear that one had little to do with the other. “Possibly the greatest human mage of all time.”
“And chosen by the Sun as well, filled with the Light. How else could he do what he did?”
“An army of warriors and an army of mages always helps achieve military goals,” said Kormak. “And he had both.”
He studied the ruined streets all about him. The destruction was on a titanic scale but it had all happened long ago. It was like looking at a stage long after the actors had left. Cataclysmic events had occurred here but in a time so remote as to make them unimportant.