The Eternal Champion

Ermizhad, if she were the creature King Rigenos believed her to be, showed no signs of her evil. Rather she seemed to be to exhibit a singular nobility of soul that was in excellent contrast to the king's rude banter.

And then I wondered if the king realised the affection I felt for Ermizhad and was afraid that the union between his daughter and his immortal Champion was threatened.

But I remained loyal to lolinda. It did not occur to me to question that we should not be married on my return, as we had agreed.

There must be countless forms of love. Which is the form which conquers the rest? I cannot define it. I shall not try,

Ermizhad's beauty had the fascination of being an unhuman beauty, but close enough to my own race's ideal to attract me.

She had the long pointed Eldren face that John Daker might have tried to describe as 'elfin' and failed to do justice to its nobility. She had the slanting eyes that seemed blind in their strange milkiness, the slightly pointed ears, the high slanting cheekbones and a slender body that was almost boyish. All the Eldren women were slender like this, small-breasted and narrow-waisted. Her red lips were fairly wide, curving naturally upwards so that she always seemed to be on the point of smiling when her face was in repose.

For the first two weeks of our voyage she continued to refuse to speak, although I showed her every courtesy. I saw that she had everything for her comfort and she thanked me through her guards, that was all. But one day I stood outside the set of cabins where she, the king and myself had our apartments, leaning over the rail and looking at a grey sea and an overcast sky, and I saw her approach me.

'Greetings, Sir Champion,' she said half-mockingly as she came out of her cabin.

I was surprised.

'Greetings, Lady Ermizhad,' said I. She was dressed in a cloak of midnight blue flung around a simple smock of pale blue wool.

'A day of omens, I think,' she said, looking at the gloomy sky which boiled darkly now above us, full of heavy greys and dusty yellows.

'Why think you?' I enquired.

She laughed. It was lovely to hear-crystal and gold-strung harps. It was the music of heaven, not of hell. 'Forgive me,' she said. 'I sought to disturb you-but I see you are not so prone to suggestion as others of your race.'

I grinned. 'You are very complimentary, my lady. I find their superstitions a trifle tedious, I must admit. Not to mention their insults…'

'One is not troubled by those,' she said. 'They are sad little insults, really.'

'You are very charitable.'

'We Eldren are a charitable race, I think.'

'I have heard otherwise.'

'I suppose you have.'

'I have bruises that prove otherwise!' I smiled. 'Your warriors did not seem particularly charitable in the seafight beyond Paphanaal.'

She bowed her head. 'And yours were not charitable when they came to Paphanaal. Is it true? Am I the only survivor?'

I licked my lips. They were suddenly dry. 'I believe so,' I said quietly.

'Then I am lucky,' she said, her voice rising a little.

There was, of course, no reply I could make.

We stood there in silence, looking at the sea.

Later she said quietly: 'So you are Erekose. You are not like the rest of your race. In fact, you do not seem wholly of that race…'

'Aha,' I replied. 'Now I know you are my enemy.'

'What do you mean?'

'My enemies-the Lord Katorn in particular-suspects my humanity.'

'And are you human?'

'I am nothing else. I am sure of that. I have the problems of any ordinary mortal. I am as confused as the rest, though my problems are, perhaps, different. How I came here, I do not know. They say I am a great hero reborn. Come to aid them against your people. They brought me here by means of an incantation. But then it sometimes seems to me, in dreams, at night, that I have been many heroes…'

'And all of them human?'

'I am not sure. I do not think my basic character has altered in any of those incarnations. I have no special wisdom, no special powers, as far as I know. Would you not think that an immortal would have gathered a great store of wisdom?'

She nodded slightly. 'I would think so, my lord.'

'I am not even sure where I am,' I continued. 'I do not know if I came here from the far future or from the far past…'

'The terms mean little to the Eldren,' she said. 'But some of us believe that past and future are the same-that time moves in a circle, so that the past is the future and the future is the past.'

'An interesting theory,' I said. 'But a rather simple one, is it not?'

'I think I would agree with you,' she murmured. 'Time is a subtle thing. Even our wisest philosophers do not fully understand its nature. The Eldren do not think very much about time-we do not have to, normally. Of course, we have our histories. But history is not mine. History is merely a record of certain events.'

'I understand you,' I said.

Now she came and stood by the ship's rail, one hand resting lightly upon it.

At that moment I felt the affection that I suppose a father might have for a daughter. A father who delights in his offspring's assured innocence. She could not have been, I felt, much more than nineteen. Yet her voice had a confidence that comes with knowledge of the world, her carriage was proud, also confident. I realised then that King Rigenos might well have spoken the truth. How, indeed, could you gauge the age of an immortal?

'I thought at first,' I said, 'that I came from your future. But now I am not sure. Perhaps I come from your past-that this world is, in relation to what I call the "twentieth century", in the far future.'

'This world is very ancient,' she agreed.

'Is there a record of a time when only human beings occupied the Earth?'

'We have no such records,' she smiled. 'There is an echo of a myth, the thread of a legend, which says that there was a time when only the Eldren occupied the Earth. My brother has studied this. I believe he knows more.'

I shivered. I did not know why but my vitals seemed to chill within me. I could not, easy, continue the conversation, though I wanted to.

She appeared not to have noticed my discomfort.

At last I said: 'A day of omens, madam. I hope to talk with you again soon.' I bowed and returned to my cabin.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONFRONTATION WITH THE KING

That night I slept without my usual precaution of a jug of wine to send me into deeper slumber. I did it deliberately, though with trepidation.

'EREKOSE…'

I heard the voice calling as it had called once before to John Daker. But this time it was not the voice of King Rigenos.

'Erekose…'

This voice was more musical.

I saw green, swaying forests and great, green hills and glades and castles and delicate beasts whose names I did not know…

'Erekose? My name is not Erekose,' I said. 'It is Prince Coram. Prince Coram-Prince Coram Bannan Flurunn of the Scarlet Robe-and I seek my people. O, where are my people? Why is there no cessation to this quest?'

I rode a horse. The horse was mantled in yellow velvet and hung about with panniers, two spears, a plain, round shield, a bow and a quiver holding arrows. I wore a conical silver helm and a double weight of chain-mail, the lower layer of brass and the upper of silver. And I bore a long, strong sword that was not the Sword Kanajana…

'Erekose.'

'I am not Erekose…'

'Erekose!'

'I am John Daker!'

'Erekose!'

'I am Jerry Cornelius.'

'Erekose.'

'I am Konrad Arflane.'

'Erekose.'

'What do you want?' I asked.

'We want your help!'

'You have my help!'

'Erekose.'

'I am Karl Glogauer!'