The Book of the Fallen - Chapter 14 - Aftermath

[Kane]

Before the year was out I was in hiding, shepherded to safety at a remote Badrua under an assumed name.  I left only after Sahi Tayam and the captain of the guards were brutally murdered on the steps of the temple. It was Sahi Ahamd who realized that I was in danger and that to return to Hallisport would mean my death. He arranged for me to be hidden in a merchant caravan heading to the northwest out in the dusty plains.  I was able to hide there until the Kingdom was overrun by the Shadow.

I sent word to my family once through several intermediaries, warning them of the danger and trying to explain why I had fled. Even forewarned they could not escape the Keeper’s vengeance. One by one my family was killed, each in a more grisly fashion. My father was tortured for days before he died, his body scattered through the streets of Hallisport. My youngest sister was the last to die. She had sought refuge with a Sussar who had sworn service to the Dark God, but even that couldn’t protect her.  The Keeper, not able to enact his vengeance on me directly, took pleasure in killing everyone I loved.

By now you should have realized that the Keeper became one of the most feared creatures in all of Eredane, the Night King Sunulael. With his core or corrupted followers from Sharuun, he fled to his home city of Cambrial and built his temple to Izrador. It was true, that he had been contacted by a god but it wasn’t Dal Sahaad.  Izrador played on his vanity and his burning desire to touch the gods to corrupt him and make him what he is today. I do believe that there is a part of the Night King that remains the Keeper of the Book; that retains his arrogance and his disdain for the Sahi. It’s that arrogance, that disdain, that has allowed a few Sahi to remain, telling their tales and maintaining a few isolated Badruas. He doesn’t see the Sahi as a threat, and that may be his only weakness.

When I started my story I said that I felt responsible for what had happened, that somehow I could have stopped it. After putting my thoughts on paper I still believe that’s the case. Sunulael as Keeper was infirm, well into his seventies or even older. When the Abbot was killed I could have smothered him in his sleep or poisoned his food.  When he killed Sahi Hamad I could have stabbed him with my hunting knife or one of the guards’’ blades. I didn’t. I couldn’t raise my hand against an elder and after the Abbot’s death, I was afraid. I hid behind Sahi’s Hamad and Tayam and they both died. When the Night King and his allies tore at the Sahi leadership and hunted my family, I hid in the plains and later the mountains. I took no risk, I raised no blade, I let evil grow and fester. I lived the last fifty years not as a man but as a cowering beast, afraid of my own shadow. I should have stood and died with Sahi Hamad or my family. I am not worthy to be remembered or mourned.

So, my story is at an end and you now know the origin of the Night King. I realize that most of this is of little use now, but hopefully, in time, the darkness will be lifted and people should know how easily evil can spread. Now it’s time to ensure the safety of this journal and end my pathetic existence. I am leaving and walking into the plains with just the hunting knife my brother gave me. Don’t look for me or my bones, leave them to the carrion eaters.  I deserve nothing better.