Epilogue
Darkness. Silence. Blessed oblivion.
And suddenly it all changed.
Black turned to grey, sounds - subtle in reality but loud to his ears - shattered the silence.
Oh no! Not again!
Mithrandos' eyes flew open, but the rest of his body was slow - too slow - to respond.
No, wait! A feeling - no danger!
Mithrandos blinked a few times, but all he could see were the dark beams of a domed wooden ceiling high above him. Then suddenly something moved in the periphery of his vision. A head came into view. He flinched.
"Milord..."
The cautious voice belonged to a young man with a round, homely face. He was dressed in white, a blessedly familiar tattoo visible just above his brow.
Mithrandos exhaled. He made it! Cam's plan had worked. He was back in Ithrandar!
May The Light bless you, my friends. Thank you.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words formed. He cleared his throat. How long had he been asleep?
The stranger spoke for him. "Do not worry, Milord," he said, bending over the edge of the sarcophagus slightly. "It was not danger that awoke you."
Mithrandos finally found his voice. "Wh...What...?"
But the young Guardian was already babbling. "My lord Mithrandos, that I may be a witness to this historical moment is an honor unreckoned, such an honor! My friends will not believe it when I shall tell them..."
Historical moment? The Dark Sorcerer! Could it be...?
The young Guardian's waterfall of words stopped abruptly and he jumped back as Mithrandos scrambled to his knees and leaned over the stone divider to peer into the other half of the sarcophagus.
The sight of the shrunken body and deeply wrinkled face of an ancient man formed a lead weight in his chest. There was no need to check for any respiration in that hull before him.
The spell had held - Luthien had finally expired at the end of his one-thousandth season of life. Mithrandos took a deep breath and the weight in his chest dissolved slowly; it was done, the sorcerer was dead.
The young Guardian had come around the side of the stone crate and was now also peering down onto the dead body of Luthien son of Deshaara, Queen of the Evil Powers.
"When did it happen?" Mithrandos asked without raising his eyes from the white-haired head.
"Just a few minutes ago, sire," the young man reported eagerly. "All the Guardians on Tower duty have been instructed to be especially watchful lately, for the High Wizards predicted that the Dark Sorcerer's demise was very close at hand, but to have it happen on my watch..."
"What era is this?"
The Guardian blinked. "Ah…this is the era of The Light two hundred and forty-three, Milord Captain."
Mithrandos did a quick calculation in his head. Yes, the timeline was in accordance to when the High Wizards of his era predicted he would be waking up if all went well. And now that time had finally arrived. His task was completed at last!
And then another thought suddenly set in, one that promptly made the imaginary weight in his chest reappear: His friends - his friends in the other dimension were long gone.
Mithrandos hoped with all his heart that their lives had come to good and peaceful ends. He made a silent vow to assure their immortality in the form of several scrolls in the history lores of Ithrandar. He would have muttered a quick prayer for them, too, but across from him, the Guardian was now resuming his chatter.
"I am the sole Guardian on sentinel duty this morning, so no one knows about your awakening and the sorcerer's demise yet. I was about to report the joyous news to my superiors, but I simply could not leave before assuring myself that you were well. I hope you did not mind…"
Mithrandos gave him a slight smile. "No. I thank you for your thoughtfulness, Brother Guardian."
The young man blushed at the companionable address, then scrambled to come to the captain's aid when Mithrandos attempted to stand. The blond warrior swayed for an instant, his equilibrium still slightly off from the long sleep, so he accepted the Guardian's arm while he stepped out of the sarcophagus. And for the first time he took a closer look at his surroundings; the room with its round stone walls, narrow windows and torches in sconces along the walls was immediately familiar to him and it told him that his one thousand season long journey had ended exactly where it had begun – in the Guardian Tower of the temple of The Light in Ithrandar.
Only about two hundred and fifty years later.
The brief dizziness faded and Mithrandos straightened up, patting his fellow Guardian's shoulder.
"I value your concern for my well-being, Brother, but maybe you should be going now to make your report," he said. "We would not want to keep the exalted High Wizards waiting for...the news."
The Guardian's head bobbed. "Yes, yes, of course." He shot out of the room and was already on the stairway when he must have remembered his manners, for his head appeared back in the doorway a moment later to give the captain a hasty bow. "Please excuse me, Milord."
Then he was gone and Mithrandos exhaled into the sudden stillness, feeling a little guilty.
There really hadn't been a need to send the young man off quite that quickly, but the truth was that Mithrandos wanted a few moments alone. With his thoughts – and with Luthien.
He went down on one bent knee beside the stone crate to gaze upon the sorcerer's dead body once more, and before long he began to speak softly. "Fare well, Luthien. My bane you were for one thousand seasons, but now my oath is fulfilled and I am free from you at last." Mithrandos paused, swallowing against the sudden lump in his throat when, against his will, his eyes began to burn. "I know there is no use in wondering and feeling sorrow for what could have been, for it never came to be. But what I would not give to be able to change history and have us end our seasons together as I had dreamed so long ago. Yet this magic feat no one can do."
He bowed his head and a single tear escaped his eye, but before more could fall, Mithrandos rose up, squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.
"No more weaknesses," he whispered into the solitude of the chamber.
Through the narrow arched window, the bright rays of the new dawn filtered into the room.
A new day – a new beginning.
And the High Wizards would be here any moment now. There was much to tell.
THE END
A/N: And thus comes to an end the story of Mithrandos and Luthien. Or does it?
No! The first part of the sequel is already posted on www . fictionpress . com / mzdany
if anyone is interested in finding out what happens next…
A heartfelt THANK YOU to my wonderful beta-reader Camille who is never too busy to read through my stuff, even if she is ;) Your nits and encouragements mean a lot to me!
And thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story, although it's been quite a bit different from the stories I usually write. Thanks for hanging in there with me!
I hope you have all enjoyed this story and will enjoy the sequels as well.
Greetings from Dany
