The Adventures of Brandar Odaron
Book 1: The Hidden Continent
Chapter 3 Of News From The East
We had no more news of Brandar until the end of the Third Invasion, where the Dwarf Lord Bereth Longhand, leading a vast army of the Dwarves of Anauria, came down from the mountains and broke the leaguer of MorLome in the Eastmarch, and is thus held as saving Andaria from destruction at that time. Then Bereth spoke of his meeting with Brandar; revealing that the Seven had indeed made it through the ranks of the enemy, from the Valley of Niehosc to the eastern slopes of the Anaurian Range.
“Verily,” said Bereth to King Tarl, “I should not have come so soon were it not for Brandar and his company. Yet, he would not come with me, choosing instead to go on to speak with the Elves of Eastwold, and then sail on by ship, if needs be, seeking yet other allies to send after me. For he wanted intently to be sure that Andaria would be saved. And he swore that he would go to the end of the sea, even to the hidden home of the Powers, to beg their help in his quest to defeat MorLome, so that, someday, his people may return to their long lost homes upon Rillguman, the ancient land of my kin in the Ice Mountains. Then did I know the more that here were brave and worthy Men, these Emissaries, as they named themselves. Would that they had returned here with me, to aid in the driving off of this enemy.
“But alas, they resolved to go East. And I, for my part, supplied them with guides and my tallest mounts, for I believe their cause to be just.” So spake Bereth Longhand, Lord of Barador, and the Inheritor of the legendary battle-axe Ankiramarth, of the Palaklar. But Bereth knew little of the Seven’s trek through the enemy’s ranks, saying: “They did not reveal much; always delaying their answers or avoiding the subject. All we knew at first was that they had made it to the mountains pursued by what seemed the whole army of the West. That is when we let them know that we were watching from above; thinking that they were spies of the enemy until we noticed that they were being chased. Seven Men in ragged clothing, limping, bloody, completely worn out, and fleeing for their very lives in the cold stone pass. Then we took them in. But they remained only two weeks with us.
“I set them upon the passes east with provisions for many days, and my best guides showing them the way. But of their further road, we have had no news.” As it happens, the Seven went on safely in the Eastern Realms, speaking with Elves and others of the Free Peoples there, who were likewise so moved by Brandar’s pleas that they sent forces of their own. Yet, Brandar would at all times decline to come with them, preferring at length to take ship with the Elves of the Coastlands, and sail the Wide Yerhiesc, so as to speak with the Men of Quiechios and of Ghevelieze. And the Seven made passage by serving as guards aboard merchant ships plagued by pirates from Fehvahr, whom the Elves said would sell captured slaves to the Kulahnians, allies of MorLome.
Then did Brander learn, by letters I sent to him, that the enemy had finally been driven from Andaria, and that his mission was therefore fulfilled. But he sent a letter in return, saying that he had now a new quest; to go exploring upon the sea. And so proficient were the Seven at fending off pirates that they earned for themselves a worthy ship of their own in which to go sailing. And aboard that small but sturdy ship, Wingaron, they rode out of the knowledge of the Men and Elves of the Isles, some the last to see them sailing away. But one of those Men reported that “the Seven intend to dare the Enchanted Mists at the very edge of the sea, and shall surely therefore be lost.”
Later, when King Tarl came at length to great agedness, and lay upon his bed with his sons all around, he said to me: “Behold, my friend. I was right after all. The Seven have not yet returned to receive their much deserved reward, and I go now to my rest without seeing them again. Would that Brandar were here with my sons, as our right honored King of the Dunjilarians. I would dearly love to gaze upon his noble young face once more. Too few were his years with us.” But I took the old king’s hand and spoke reassuringly to him, saying: “Fear not for Brandar and his men, my Lord. I feel it in my heart that the Seven live, and are doing great deeds in some faraway land. And mayhap they shall return, someday. Indeed, I foretell it so.” Then Tarl smiled, comforted, but went soon to the Halls of the Dead.
What none knew of me in those days, not even King Tarl, is that I once braved the Enchanted Mists, but without a ship, in my youth, having learned magic from a great Mage that was the sire of the woman I loved, but who died of a malady which he could not thwart. And by spell-magic I flew through the airs in sadness, wandering, and searching out the secrets of Esaereh; desiring to find ways to cheat death, though discovering only that such learning is not to be had by mortal Men. Yet, I succeeded in finding ways to prolong life, most especially my own, and to some extent the lives of others to a lesser degree, with much effort. But ever do I give thanks to the Gods for allowing me to gain such knowing, for it is only by their grace that I obtained it.
Long did I journey, even ere Andar had founded his kingdom in the wide Valley of Niehosc, upon the continent of Weyilendeh, going each in turn north and south, then east and west, and there speaking with Mages and Wizards and Alchemists and all other users of magic wherever I found the cities and towns of people of many kinds.
Weyilendeh I encompassed first; braving the frostlands north, then those to the south, and all teh lands between, and from one coast to the other. And many times must I remain in a country long enough to learn the speech of their folk. Then did I fly over the Western Ocean, finding there a continent, much smaller than Weyilendeh, and where dwelt only Elves, among thinking beings, though few in number, for there were mostly dense forests there, from north to south, and much wildlife but no monsters. Yet, those Elves long ago departed, and went whither-so-ever they desired; in the earliest days of Men, and attached themselves to other Elves in other lands, or founded other realms of their own.
Westward then did I continue magically flying, and crossed yet another ocean, full of creatures of the sea, and many serpents of differing sizes, and other monsters, though I viewed them only from above, and never went too close. And that is how I came to the Enchanted Mists, having thus gone half-way 'round the world; knowing with this that it was indeed a globe in shape, for I had learned from the people of the eastern coasts of Weyilendeh that there were was a great wall of white mists marking the edge of the Eastern Ocean, and into which none who had ventured in were known to have returned, at that time, although adventurers would later come thence from out of them, and at length return into them, as mentioned later in this tome.
Strange things I discovered in the mists, and later determined that they change the time of those who enter them. But the merciful Gods favored me in this task, and so I came through them unscathed, and came to an inner sea and then another continent. This was a land called by the Elves the Hidden Continent, whence they had been told by the Gods that it had been enclosed within the Mists in the former days of the Elves, who had beforehand often visited it, when is was know as the Garden of the Gods. But upon that island continent had been placed the most dangerous of all monsters, after the Last War of the Gods, and the forming of the magical mists, to keep those monsters from troubling the Elves and Dwarves and Men; the Children of Eiowaeh. And there indeed did I encounter many a winged monster; Demons and Devils, Dragons and Drakes, and also other creatures that had the magic of flight, though not winged. And often must I fight them to remain alive, at times barely escaping. And I beheld beneath me a great land filled with the most dire of creatures and beasts and creeping things.
Yet, at length I flew south, over yet more water, and discovered there a wide island in the midst of lesser ones, and which were free of monsters, but upon which I found only the ruins of some long lost city whose mighty stone towers and castles and houses had tumbled in some tremendous cataclysm. And this I realized was the ancient home of the Gods themselves, in the days in which they walked in bodily form upon the face of the world. But after their war with the UnderLords, whom they defeated and then cast into the Outer Voids, the Gods removed themselves from the world whence bringing all of the most deadly monsters to the Hidden Continent, and erected about it what we call the Enchanted Mists, to keep them from escaping.
Yet, as told by the Elves, the Gods of Old shall never again take on the forms which once they donned, and remain invisible to all life in Esaereh, though they are not unmindful of it, and at times work to the benefit of those whom they choose. Why they did not destroy all monsters in those days, and allowed evil even to come about, is not known. But who are we to question them
Then did I brave the Mists once more, heading west, and came through them to emerge into the Great Eastern Ocean, and discovered in the north of those waters that continent which would become known as Wilderland, but also Dolgondil, and which held no monsters but was filled utterly with all manner of beasts. Yet, I explored it little, and came at last to the eastern coasts of Weyilendeh, and from there the Valley of Nieosc, and my home, where I settled down and began working as a smith; forging weapons and tools for my people. And there, after some years, the mighty leader Andar came to me, asking for a sword of special make and magical, which I gladly made for him. Thus, with that sword, the first of the Palaklar, and with my aid Andar freed all of our lands of Durwolc, and of all other monsters, and established that kingdom of Men later named Andaria.