WHAT CHAOS PROMISED

He breathed in dust and coughed violently, spewing out the last of the blood in his gut before rolling onto his back. Something warm and dry brushed against his nose and a foul smell invaded his nostrils and choked his mouth. He gagged and raised a hand to push at that spot in the darkness beyond his eyelids that was offending his senses. His hand connected with a firm, coarse surface that scratched his skin like the needles on a pine tree. A blast of hot, foul air rolled over his face and he gagged before rolling onto his side. Something shifted in his lungs and he coughed, his body contorting until he groaned as he was pulled into a fetal position by his own tired muscles. One of his hands brushed against his stomach and it was smooth. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it as a red light pierced into the back of his mind and forced his eyelids to close reflexively. The dust was disturbed near his head as footsteps crushed the sand grains against one another.

“The arrow is gone. A gift from the friends who sent you here. You got rid of the blood yourself. Your friends are cheap.”

The elf placed one hand on the dirt and pushed himself up while one shoulder remained bent beneath him. The position would grow painful in a few moments but it would buy his weak body time to face the voice. He forced his eyes open and squinted against the red glare. A short, black shape began to stand out in the field of red. “Who…” His words stuck in his mouth where the dryness pricked painfully at his throat.

“Shh shh shh…” The black figure cooed. “You need water, not that there’s much to find here. This is not Ulthuan, Shadow King.” the figure paused and it shifted, as if covering its mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to say that. I’m not supposed to indulge you with your old titles. But, to hell with them. We’ll call each other whatever we want.”

“Are…” Alith Anar struggled, swallowing painfully to coax out his words. “Are you one of the Ruinous Powers?”

The reply was a bark as much as it was a cruel laugh. “We’re not all that different, really. Exiles in a way. Desperate, dying. Willing to cling to any outside chance.”

“I’m chosen.” Alith Anar insisted, pulling himself forward and forcing his eyes to focus on his companion. “They spoke to me. I was promised.” He was able to see the grin spread across the lips of the wolf that sat on its haunches. At first the elf was taken aback and his lips were pulled down in a sneer, but then his vision focused and he saw the truth in the wolf’s words. They weren’t all that different. The creature’s hide was drawn tight across its protruding ribs. Whole patches of dark fur were missing where they had either been torn out or had fallen due to disease or malnourishment. Thick strands of spittle connected its muzzle to the dirt and formed dark, hungry patches on the ground. The wolf’s golden eyes stared back at Alith Anar, full of an insane mirth. Its yellow teeth were revealed as it completed its grin.

“You are nothing so special.” The wolf replied. “You and a dozen, a hundred others are chosen. The last time they chose one it ended in disaster.” The wolf stood up and its tongue lolled out of its mouth. It turned away from Alith Anar and began to trot away into the wastes. “I wouldn’t lie there for long. It may be cold but the sun never sets here and it will burn you.”

The Shadow King pushed against the ground and collapsed. He panted into the dirt and reached forward, gripping the hard ground and pulling dirt towards him before he closed his eyes and fell back into sleep. In his dreams the Shadow King reeled with the knowledge that he had been betrayed again. He was made to stand in his home in Nagarythe where he wore the vestments of a king. The galleries were filled with familiar faces from the days after the passing of Aenarion. Bel Shanaar, a face he wasn’t sure he would be able to remember rose from a seat next to him and then left through the door. No one watched him go, and the Shadow King himself could hardly remember his presence once the door had closed behind him. In the dream Alith Anar’s face ached, and it took a moment to realize that it was because he was smiling. One by one familiar faces left the gallery. Some gave him one last apologetic look before they slipped out, others purposefully hid their faces. One by one the torches that lit the hall were snuffed out until only a handful in the gallery remained. Caledor stood and left without changing his expression. Alith Anar stared at the would-be Phoenix King’s back and wanted to pierce it with rage, but all he felt was pity. His face was comfortable now, relaxing into the familiar frown. Only four faces were left in the gallery, but Alith Anar did not recognize them. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and with the least effort the Shadow King was flung to the floor of his own hall, falling from the dais to the marble where his crown tumbled from his head and broke. He didn’t need to look over his shoulder to realize that Malekith stood behind him. The four in the gallery stood as one and considered the fallen Shadow King before they smiled and turned for the exit. Malekith laughed.

Alith Anar awoke in the same position that he had fallen into only the ground wasn’t nearly as smooth but it was as cold as the marble. He shivered as something wet and hot dribbled onto his cheek and moved to brush it off with one hand. He struck the wolf’s muzzle for the second time and pushed it away. It growled in reply. “Open your eyes; you’ll starve soon if you don’t get on your feet.”

The Shadow King forced his eyes open for a second time and was rewarded with an image of his own face reflected in a shallow dish of water. Alith Anar lurched for the water and sucked it down without hesitation, washing it all around his mouth to relieve the painful dryness that had made speech difficult. He took another moment before he sat up and took stock of his surroundings. The wolf was sitting on his haunches again, drooling and staring at the deposed king. He was right about the sun never setting. The source of the red glare hung just above the horizon which relieved most of its intensity but didn’t promise any further relief for those trapped in the northlands as the sun slowly moved around the world. The red brown wastes stretched on in a broken, rocky expanse as far as the elf could see. For the land that had spawned the forces of chaos Alith Anar found it remarkably uninteresting. It matched the Ruinous Powers for their cruelty but had none of their color.

“You should be grateful I brought you that water. It’s not easy to come by if you don’t know where to look. We’ve moved up to sitting; now get on your feet.” The wolf got to his and started to walk away. Alith Anar paused for a moment and then rose to his feet. His head felt light at first and he staggered but managed to keep his feet. He watched the wolf go and for a moment wondered if he should follow. The beast had saved his life, but in a world where no idea, person, god or place had not betrayed him he was hesitant to once again put his trust in someone he might be forced to rely on. He looked around and realized that no matter what his training or abilities on Ulthuan this place would not accommodate them. With regret heavy in his steps Alith Anar lurched after the wolf who was sitting atop the next rise. The Shadow King fixed his eyes on the point and tried to forget the aches in his legs and the hole in his stomach that threatened to eat him away from the inside.

“Taste the air, friend.” The wolf told Alith Anar as the elf topped the rise. “You won’t find berries or anything else that grows to eat here. Food walks. Food talks.” The wolf’s powerful nose turned towards the sky. “Can you smell it?”

The Shadow King found himself tilting back his head and emulating the wolf. The smell of ash was very faint on the air. “The ash?”

“A fire.” The wolf replied, licking his lips.

“What could they possibly have to burn?” Alith Anar wondered as he looked around the barren landscape.

“Like water things that burn aren’t so hard to find if you know where to look.” The wolf hopped down the rocky slope and started down to the valley below. “You fancied yourself a hunter, friend. If you aren’t chosen, you might as well find a meal.” The Shadow King frowned but he followed, carefully climbing down the rocks. A fall would kill him in his weakened his state and he wasn’t willing to trust in his elven agility without something in his stomach.

“I am chosen.” Alith Anar insisted. “It was promised to me.”

The wolf sighed and shook his head, leaping down a few rocks to show his charge a stable path. “Nothing is promised here except misery.” He replied. “There will be a chosen, but it won’t be the gods who choose that one.”

The Shadow King paused and looked at the wolf. “A chosen? You know of them?”

The wolf smiled, revealing his fangs. “Not just a chosen, Alith Anar. An Everchosen. Walk among the tribes as I have and you will hear them whisper it. They might be men but their stories go back as far as any elf’s memory. They may not know Aenarion and Malekith by name but the power they wield…That can be translated into any tongue. They crave it. They know it’s out there, waiting for the gods to bestow it.”

“But there is no chosen.” Alith Anar said as he continued his climb down to the wolf. “You said that.”

The wolf hopped down to the valley floor. “Chaos helps those who help themselves, Shadow King. Remember that.”

The floor of the valley was made of softer sand than the hard plateau. The smell of a fire had grown stronger to the elf and he scanned the horizon for the speck of bright light that would give it away. The wolf trotted out across the desert plain, absently sniffing at the bit of scrub that littered the valley floor. “Why are you so anxious to have the power?” The wolf asked.

“Why do you dismiss it?” Alith Anar countered, walking next to the creature as he hunted for the fire.

The wolf’s hackles raised and the fur around his neck bunched and bristled. He growled. “I tasted it, once. I know how fickle the gods can be. Turn back until you find the stars and then walk south. Leave this place, Alith Anar. They’ll discard you like they discarded me. Who knows? Maybe you can guide the next fool to their doom.” The wolf picked up his feet and started walking towards a ravine.

“What do any of these northmen know.” Alith Anar continued as he started to walk. “You were one of them, weren’t you?” The wolf gave no reply so the Shadow King continued. “What would you use it for? To raze some cities and settle clan rivalries? You aren’t worthy.”

“And you are?” The wolf looked over his shoulder.

“I am the most worthy.” Alith Anar insisted. “I have suffered the greatest injustice and I am the only one who can right it.”

The wolf barked a dry laugh. “Justice…Think about your stomach first.”

The smell grew stronger until the sight of smoke rising from the ravine brought Alith Anar to a halt. The wolf stopped as well and turned its golden eyes up at the Shadow King. “Smoke.” Alith Anar told his companion as he pointed to the ravine. The wolf turned to the spot and started forward.

“Be careful. These are not elves. Negotiation is not a word they are familiar with.” The Shadow King nodded and crept forward with the wolf.

The firelight danced along the red rock and laughter sprang from the crack in the earth as Alith Anar came upon the feast. He could smell smoke, roasting meet and the stench of men all at once and it made his mouth water. He glanced at the wolf and saw that it was drooling as well, its golden eyes shining as it surveyed the camp site and the meat that was slowly roasting over a healthy flame. Four men, larger than any brute Alith Anar had ever seen, sat around the fire stuffing their faces. They were coated in dirt and clothed only in furs, which still did the tattered cloth that barely covered the Shadow King one better. They had spears at their sides, crude bone implements that Alith Anar could not help but feel disdain for, made all the worse by the realization that he had been stripped of his weapons.

“Look there. The big one.” The wolf whispered to Alith Anar and indicated that largest man with a twitch of his head. “The largest portion goes to him. He’s the leader.” The wolf settled down onto his belly and sighed into the dirt. “Too many. It seems we’ll starve.”

Alith Anar was crouched on the edge of the ravine and he flinched at the wolf’s words. His guide had been right about everything to this point but the Shadow King refused to accept it. “Then I will die. But not in my sleep.” He replied to the wolf before edging forward. The leader was right in front of him, next to the fire. The men were exchanging what sounded to him like grunts but he knew he hadn’t been seen. He wondered if he could kill the leader with his bare hands. He hadn’t made such a kill in ages; he regretted the loss of his knives and his bow. He could kill all four before they stood up if he had them. He remembered that this place was not about to accommodate his skills. The Shadow King clenched his fists in frustration, his fingers digging deep into the soft earth. He paused as his hand closed around a rock. The elf’s heart began to pump and he felt heat on his cheeks. He would not starve. He would die here, or eat. “Stay if you will. I will not starve.” Alith Anar told the wolf before he surrendered to the shadow of the warrior he had been.

The northmen laughed in deep, throaty bursts as the smallest among them gestured wildly and pantomimed begging to some woman back in their village. Their bellies were full and they were well rested, they had nothing but satisfaction from this hunt. They looked up as one when the elf perched on the edge of the ravine howled and leapt into the red sky. The three smaller men shrank back in fear at the howling apparition as he descended into the ravine. The oldest and strongest was not about to be cowed. He stood while the others crouched and deftly took his spear in hand. Bits of meat hung from the edge of his mouth as he set it into a frown, preparing to deliver his war cry and impale the intruder.

As fast as the northman was Alith Anar was faster. As soon as the lithe elf landed on his feet he swung the rock with every ounce of strength left in him. It struck the northman in the temple, shattering his eye socket and sending shocks into his brain before the rock penetrated his skull and erased his life. Blood from the arteries in his head exploded at his assailant but didn’t reach him until the swipe was finished and the battle over. The leader toppled over onto the ground and bled even more, his eyeball rolling out of his head. He twitched his last while his men looked on with fear, awe, and rage. They gathered their spears and got to their feet. They howled and shrieked at the elf but dared not try and kill him. He was tall and fair skinned with black hair that went down past his shoulders. When he turned to them and dared that they look into his eyes they shrank back from his bloody face. One, who was now the eldest began to come forward, momentarily undaunted by the elf king. Alith Anar held his ground but could not raise the dripping rock in his hand. He was spent.

The wolf followed Alith Anar into the ravine and interposed himself between the northmen and the Shadow King. It pulled its ears back and bared its fangs, growling an unmistakable warning to the one northman who thought he could kill the elf. “Speak.” The wolf told Alith Anar, sparing one quick glance back at him before he refocused on the northmen. “They will understand. That is your gift.”

Alith Anar looked over the three remaining men and was at loss for what to say. Had they been his family, his subjects or his shadow warriors the words would have tumbled from his mouth as naturally as walking. But these were men, crude beings with bone spears who were too frightened by a mangy wolf and an emaciated elf to avenge the death of their leader. Then the wolf’s words came to him and he knew what to say. This was his first step. “I am Alith Anar.” He told the men, summoning up the command he had used as a king but would now have to exceed. “You have never seen anything like me before. I command you now and will soon command your brothers, your fathers and your sons.” The men looked confused, but it was clear that they had understood the words. They shrank back. “I am the Everchosen.”