A Dwarf's Tale: Will of a Silver Coin

“Son? Is that you?”

I didn’t know where I was. Someone was calling me their son. I looked around. All I saw was a continual mass of colors. Two of the colors separated themselves and appeared before me. It was an older dwarf couple, a man and woman. I could see them, but their forms were translucent as well. The man wore the insignia and trappings of the dwarf god Vergadain. The woman, wore the trappings and insignia of the dwarf god Moradin. They were smiling at me.

“Son? I am your son?”

“You are our son. You freed us from the dragon’s grip.”

“Freed you?”

“Yes son. You freed all of us. Now, we can go home.”

“Home? Where is home? What is home?”

The dwarf woman came up to me and hugged me. “Home, to our resting place, to be among our ancestors, to be among the gods. I am so proud of you.”

I hugged her back. “Proud of me?”

The man clasped his hand on my shoulder. “You did fine work son. Do not despair that we no longer are on the mortal plane.”

“I am not. But I don’t know either of you. I don’t know who I am. And I certainly do not know where I am.”

Two other dwarves approached me. I could tell they were not normal dwarves. They had auras about them that set them apart. The slightly smaller dwarf elbowed the larger one. “Told you he could do it. I win the bet.”

“Yes, you did win the bet.”

“Bets?” I was so confused right now, it was not even funny.

“Indeed. You live up to the blood line of Tarkas.”

Tarkas? “My name is Tarkas?”

The slightly smaller dwarf looked to the larger one. “Even here in the astral plane he doesn’t remember? Moradin, we will have to fix that now won’t we?”

“It is the least we can do, for one who has done much is such a short amount of time.”

“Moradin? Then, you must be Vergadain. And I must be dead.”

“Do you want to be dead?”

“I have a choice?”

“You will always have a choice. Hasn’t your time on the mortal plane shown you that?”

“Well, yes. But death is death. Isn’t it?”

“I think it is about time we help him out.”

They gathered around me. From what I am assuming are my parents, they locked arms with the two dwarven gods. They bowed their heads as I was surrounded by a strange light. The light seemed to go through every part of my being.

I remember being bounced on my mother’s knee. I remember my father taking me to schooling on my first day. I remembered my first failed lessons, and then, my first victorious lessons. I remember all the name calling, but then I remember the veteran dwarves praising me. I remember my first battle, my first victory. I remember my home, buildings of old grandeur, I remember the mountains, the valleys, the lakes and the rivers I used to know. I remembered my rites of ascension within the clan. I remember the first troops I was responsible for within our clan. I remember the council, the decisions to leave and help. I remember the attack upon us. I saw my parents cut down. I remember my rage, the decimation of the enemy before me. I remember crying for my parents Malun and Tidor. I remember my swearing for satisfaction of our clan Tarkas that we will never give up or I will forget my name of Haussen Tarkas. Everything overwhelmed me. The memories, the rush of emotions, the fact that I was here, nearly drove me crazy. I looked at them. “I am so sorry I failed all of you.”

“What do you mean son? You did not fail anything. You vindicated us. You freed us from the horrible prison. You saved our fellows.”

“Along with that Tarkas, the human gods and goddesses and the dragon gods now speak to us again. You did not fail Tarkas. You succeeded beyond what I measured of you.”

I turned to our god, my god, Moradin. “Sir, I did not realize.”

“Of course you didn’t Hause.” Vergadain came to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “You are you, just as I said to the big oaf. Although, I could of used a bit less melodrama. But hey, I guess that is your mother coming out then.”

“Mother? Mama? Papa? What do I do now?”

“You will do what you always have done Hause. But you have a choice. You can come with us, or, you can go back.”

“Will I ever see you, any of you again?”

“The future is always in flux Haussen Tarkas. If you stay true to yourself however, I do not see a reason why you cannot.”

To be with my parents, in the afterlife, was so tempting. To be with my ancestors, is so inviting. That is when I noticed two more forms approaching. I recognized one. It was GloriAnn. The other, I am assuming is her patron god Cuthbert. GloriAnn came to me and hugged me.

“Haussen, I wanted to thank you personally. It was your heart that placed me here. And if you decide to stay, I would welcome your company as well. But consider that there are so many, that still need you. Even now, they are in sorrow over you.”

“Sorrow? Because I am dead?”

“Haussen, you hover at the gateway. You have done so for a long while.”

“But I just got here.”

“Time works different here Haussen. A moment here could be a century in the mortal plane, just like a century here could be a moment there.” The other form, that of a strong human with a cudgel at his side, spoke to me. “There were many opportunities you could turn another way, but you did not. So I agree with my disciple here. Consider all of those that still need you. However, none of us would deny you if you decided to stay.”

I looked to my parents and smiled. “If I decided to stay, I would not be true to myself. Therefore, in death, I would living a lie filled with regret. I cannot do that.”

My mother hugged me. “I know son, I know. We shall always watch over you.”

I hugged her, and my father too. They started to fade as they walked away. After a moment or a year, they faded from my sight. That is when I noticed pain. Oh such excruciating pain. I raised my hand to my head. I felt charred skin and nearly no hair. “Ow, what the hell hit me?”

“Tor? Tor! You are alive!”

I was laying in bed. It wasn’t my bed though. I opened my eyes. The room was a bit more ornate. I laid in bed with a simple robe on. My hands were blackened and charred. So I imagine the rest of my body was. I could feel the pain of burn throughout. My muscles felt stiff and rubbery. My bones, each one felt like they would break at the slightest movement. I turned my head to the voice. It was Steve there sitting beside me.

“I guess I am alive. Good to see you Steve.”

“I’m going to tell everyone else!”

I grabbed his arm, gritting my teeth at the searing pain. “Wait, give me a few minutes. Please.”

Steve sat back down and nodded. “Tor, everyone told me what you done. I woke up soon after that.”

“Oh, tell me what happened.”

“Well, not much to tell. When the explosion went, the chest exploded, the dragon skeleton disintegrated, and the vampire did as well. That is when the energy barriers and the bone prisons disappeared too. Everyone thought you were dead after that huge explosion. I woke up with Mom and Dad hugging me. I looked around, and notice everyone else was at the far wall. We went there too, and, Tor, I cannot even describe how you looked. You were burned so badly, and we could see that many of your bones were broken. But somehow, you still breathed. Griff walked up to you, and started pawing the ground. It took several of us to lift you. We put you on Griff’s back, as she crooked her wings to steady you. Kosser found where they took all of our weapons and armor. Out in the courtyard, the undead were destroyed. Everyone left for the west, the same way all of you left before. At the tunnel mouth, we rested there, but Cotun and the other dwarves were not going to have rest. They made a crude wagon, and we put you on the wagon along with the weapons and armor. Griff insisted on drawing the wagon, and her children laid nestled to you. We walked towards home. That is when we came upon the plains cavalry. They took us to the nearest town and sent messengers to Stalvinport. A huge amount of soldiers came, and Thompson led the way to get to Stalvinport. Woodard has been trying to heal you, but said he couldn’t I don’t understand it all. So, we have been here a week, each one of us taking turns to be here with you.”

I was touched, really touched. “Is there a mirror?”

Steve got a mirror and handed it to me. I could understand why they were not sure if I was going to live or die. All of my hair was burned away. My skin was blackened and charred. “I look like hell.”

“You look better than you did when we first saw you Tor.”

“Oh?” I looked at my left hand. The silver ring. It survived. “Now I know how Tyna felt. Ugh!”

“Tor?”

“Haussen actually.”

Steve’s eyes went wide. “You got your memory back?”

“Yes, yes I did Steve.”

“That’s wonderful! But, umm, do you mind Tor? I like it better than Haussen.”

I chuckled. “Sure Steve. I can have multiple names.”

“Oh good. Tor, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure, but, is there something to drink?”

Steve produced my goblet. “Torid said that if you wake up, you would be thirsty.”

I grinned a bit and painfully sat up in bed. I willed dwarven spirits and drank half of it. I set the cup down, the warmth of the liquid started going through my body. “Better. Ok, Steve, what did you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know if I want to be a mage anymore?”

“Really? Why?”

“Everyone told me what happened. But most important, Kosser still had a recording cube on him. He let me have it so I could listen to everything. Look at what magic has done Tor. So much pain, so much death. I don’t know if I want to be a part of it.”

The guilt. Warriors get the same way. I remember when my first command, my troops died because of my errors in judgment.

“Steve, it is precisely why you must not stop.”

“I don’t understand Tor.”

“Magic, is a form of a set of tools. Just like weapons and armor are tools. Tools are neutral. Tools can be used to create, or can be used to destroy. It is the wielder of those tools that determine what will happen. Do you conquer or protect? Do you attack or defend? Do you heal or do you kill? There are also equal forces in the world. For those that want to destroy, conquer, and kill, there must be those that want to create, protect, and heal. Each one of us, has that choice. Your question should not be whether you want to be a mage or not. Your question should be, what motivates you. I remember the boy that spoke to me that he wanted to fight but with different ways. You wanted to be strong, not for yourself, but for others. The question is, the man that is now before me, still feel the same way? If yes, then, a mage you shall be. If not, then, you shall decide what you should be.”

Steve thought long at my words. Finally, he looked at me. “A mage I shall be. I meant what I said then, and it holds true now.”

“I’ll drink to that.” I emptied my goblet.

“Tor, you seem to be a little different. Is it because you have your memory now?”

“No. I may be a little different, because there are many things I have learned and realized. And that is ok. It will happen with you too. Change, is always good, as long as your foundation is set in stone. With a strong foundation, you can always make changes to the house you build.”

“Tor, I wish you could become a mage. You would be a great mage”

I winked at him. “Steve, you should realize. There is more than one form of magic now. No matter what magic you have, you hold it close, and never let go.”

Steve laughed a bit and then hugged me. “I’m glad you have that magic Tor.”

“Takes one with magic to know another with magic Steve.” I returned back his embrace. “Now, let’s see if I can get up from this bed.”

Yes, there is more than one form of magic in the world. But magic is magic. Just like will is will, strength is strength, and love is love. With all of these different forms, they are materials to build your foundation. A foundation, formed by the balance of head and heart, to stay the winds of chaos, to be secured against the tides of time, and to stand firm against the earthquakes of fate. These people know me as Tor. That is fine by me. I know who I am, what I am. I am Haussen Tarkas of Stonemore. Whatever lays before me, will always be met by whatever comes behind me, and, most importantly, whoever stands with me.

A note from the author

Thank you for reading my first novel! It is my hope and wish that you had as much fun with the story of Haussen Tarkas as I had writing it! There are many more stories to come about Hause and many other memorable characters.