Lannon awoke from the nightmare, chilled yet sweating, with one clear realization in mind. Only the Divine Essence could exist beyond the grasp of the evil. Lannon could trust no one else, for the Deep Shadow was a clever foe, and could seize a person's soul before they realized what was happening.
When he fell asleep again, much later, he dreamt of the wondrous light in the crystal chamber. Again the Essence spoke to him, demanding he come to it, telling him it would share its secrets with him.
"Come to me swiftly!" it urged, "or all will be lost."
When Lannon awoke in the morning, that sense of urgency remained with him. He considered telling Garrin or Taris everything, but then decided that would undoubtedly ruin any chance he had of ever visiting the Divine Essence. They were great Knights, who had worked hard to gain their positions, and they would be very reluctant to break the Sacred Laws over a mere dream.
Yet Lannon knew he must go. His fears, however dark, must be put aside forever, until he attained his goal. The Deep Shadow thrived within Dremlock. No one doubted that. And Lannon had grown paranoid during the winter months, wondering if a simple stare in his direction was sinister in nature or if a shadowy figure on the wooded trail at dusk would mean his doom. His friends felt it too. The rumors had gotten to them as well, and like Lannon, they too looked to Dremlock's god-king for help.
He needed to know more about the Eye of Divinity and how it could combat the evil. He needed to know if there was anyone left in Dremlock he could trust. And he needed to know just what his destiny was.
Kuran Darkender had dreamt of the Divine Essence. He had acted on that dream, and Dremlock Kingdom had been born.
Only the Divine Essence could give Lannon the answers he sought.
Chapter 11: The Fire and the Shadow
Four days passed after Lannon's dream, and still Vorden made no specific plans to visit the Divine Essence. The tables had turned, and now Lannon was the one trying to persuade Vorden to go. Yet Vorden seemed detached and uninterested in anything but his training. Meanwhile, Lannon grew ever more impatient. The dream stayed fresh in his mind, and each night in his sleep he believed he could feel the Divine Essence calling to him, demanding he come to it. His need to visit the god-king became overwhelming, crushing any lingering doubts or fears.
"Why are we waiting so long?" Lannon finally asked Vorden one evening. "We should get this over with."
Vorden shook his head. "Something's wrong, Lannon. Why would Jerret and Clayith want to go with us? They can't really sneak out of their quarters like we can, because they bunk with the other Squires. Jerret might be brash enough to try it, but Clayith-that's just not like him. I have a bad feeling about this."
"So we're not going?" Lannon shook his head. "This is ridiculous, Vorden. Now that I'm all ready and everything, you change your mind."
"What are you talking about?" said Vorden. "You're the one who didn't want to do this. What changed your mind?"
Lannon shrugged. "It's not important." He didn't know if he should tell Vorden of his dream or not, but he doubted it would make any difference either way. Vorden did things to suite his own needs.
"Why not go without them?" said Timlin. "We could go tonight, and they'd never know about it." He seemed strangely eager to try this adventure, considering how terrified he'd been down in the mines.
"That's a great idea!" said Lannon.
"No, it isn't," said Vorden. "They might have already told on us, and then someone might be waiting at the Temple to catch us sneaking in. I want to see the Divine Essence as bad as you do, Lannon. Maybe more so, since I came up with the idea. But I think we need to wait a while-maybe even a month or two."
"A month?" said Lannon. "I can't wait a month!"
Vorden gave him a piercing stare. "What's wrong with you, Lannon? You don't seem like yourself lately."
Lannon thought about it. He certainly didn't feel like himself. He felt scared and isolated, overflowing with anxiety. He needed to talk to someone he could trust, and the only one he could think of was the Divine Essence, which he felt was the answer to all his problems. He had seen nothing of Taris or Furlus lately, and Garrin seemed distant, as if he had much on his mind.
"Alright," Lannon said, swallowing hard. "I guess we wait."
Vorden nodded. "What else can we do?"
Even as Vorden finished that statement, the door to their room was yanked open and in stepped Jerret and Clayith. They wore armor and weapons (which was perfectly acceptable in Dremlock-and even encouraged, since the Knights wanted the Squires to get used to such adornments). It was snowing hard outside, and they were covered in heavy flakes and panting hard.
Jerret nodded to them, grinning.
For a moment there was total silence in the room, and nobody moved. Then Jerret fixed his gaze on Vorden.
"So are we doing this or not, Vorden? I'm tired of waiting."
"I don't think so," said Vorden, choosing his words carefully. Casually he signaled to Timlin-a hand sign the Squires had just recently learned that meant passage check. Timlin hopped up and went to the door, peering out. He gave a quick signal back indicating the hallway was clear.
This bit of silent communication had not gone unnoticed by Jerret. "So you don't trust us," he said, with a humorless smile. "I thought that was it. Why didn't you tell us that from the start, instead of wasting our time?"
"It's not that," said Vorden. "I'm just wondering how you two can pull this off. Won't the other Squires notice you're missing?"
Jerret smiled. "Probably. But what's the big deal? We'll just get in trouble, and have to do cleaning chores and the like for a while. But I think it's worth it. You three aren't the only ones sneaking around-Squires do it a lot. I think the Knights are really distracted right now and don't notice what's going on right under their noses. Cartlan's supposed to do a count on us each evening, but he usually doesn't bother."
"What if they search for you?" said Vorden.
"They won't," said Jerret. "I can guarantee it. They're not going to waste time looking for us." He laughed. "You really have been living in a cave! Do you think they'll awaken the High Council and send a legion of Knights to find us? If they even find out we're gone, they'll just wait until we come back to punish us."
Vorden's face burned red with embarrassment. "I was just trying to cover everything, Jerret. It doesn't hurt to be cautious."
"Sure," said Jerret. "So are we in, or not?"
"One more question," said Vorden. "The West Tower has door guards. How'd you get past them?"
Jerret chuckled. "We never went back after training. We've been hiding out in the woods all evening, freezing our skin off."
Vorden sighed. "This doesn't look good, Jerret."
"We took a risk," said Jerret, "and we're probably going to be in trouble. But that's our problem, not yours. So at least make it worth our while."
"Yeah," said Clayith. "Make it worth our while, Vorden."
Vorden fell silent for a time. Then he said, "Alright, we'll do it-but only if Lannon and Timlin agree. I'm not their boss or anything."
"I want to go," said Timlin. "I don't care what happened last time. This time it's going to be better. We're going to see the Divine Essence!"
"Let's just get going," said Lannon. He pulled his weapons and armor from beneath his bed and started putting them on.
"I guess it's decided then," said Vorden, nodding with approval at Lannon. "Looks like you're leading this adventure."
Lannon shrugged. "I don't care who leads. I just have to see the Divine Essence, and I'm not turning back until I do."
Clayith was staring intently at Lannon. He smiled, and Lannon thought Clayith looked like a bird of prey, with his hooknose and pointy chin. Clayith was the largest and strongest of all the Squires. But accompanying that physical strength was a gentleness that ran as deep as any Lannon had ever seen. Clayith saved drowning moths from water pools, and he defended any small creatures (even bugs) the other Squires sought to maim or squash. He always spoke in a soft voice, and never seemed to think very highly of himself but always gave praise to others.