Curse of the Shadowmage - Mark Anthony [34]
"In ancient days," the mage began, "a blazing star fell to Toril. The only one to see it fall was a wandering minstrel. Curious, he journeyed in the direction of the falling star and came upon a smoking crater. In the center of the steaming pit, the minstrel found a hot piece of metal shaped like a star. Thinking it beautiful, the minstrel quenched the piece of metal in a pool of water and fastened it to a silver chain, making it into a medallion. The minstrel donned the medallion, and from that day on his fortune changed. First he became a renowned musician, then a noble lord, and finally the ruler of his own land. The medallion was called the Shadowstar. The minstrel's name was Verraketh-Verraketh Talembar."
Mari and Estah exchanged startled looks, but they said nothing, not wishing to interrupt the mage's narrative.
"In time," Morhion went on, "the medallion granted Verraketh not only great fortune, but great magic as well. It infused him with awesome power-power over the substance of shadows. It was a magic that was passed on to his only son, Talek Talembar, who became a bard and a sorcerer in his own right. As the years went by and Verraketh aged not, he became known as the Shadowmage; his kingdom was called Ebenfar.
"The years turned into centuries, and the magic of the Shadowstar began to transform Verraketh until he was a man and a mage no longer, but a thing of pure and evil magic, which folk in fear named the Shadowking." Morhion regarded his two listeners solemnly. "I think you both know the rest of the tale. Seeking dominion over all men, the Shadowking forged the Nightstone. But Talek Talembar defeated his father and sealed both Shadowking and Nightstone inside the crag upon which, an eon later, Iriaebor was raised."
"So it was from his father that Talek Talembar inherited his shadow magic?" Mari asked.
"That is so," Morhion replied. "There is something else I learned, though not directly from the Mal'eb'dala." He turned to the halfling innkeeper. "Estah, what was the name of Caledan's father?"
She scowled, obviously wondering at the purpose of this question. "It was Caledan Caldorien."
"And the name of his father."
"Why, Caledan Caldorien, of course," Estah replied in consternation. "Morhion, you know as well as I that it's a family name. It's been passed down from father to son for centuries."
"Yes," the mage replied gravely. "Just like the shadow magic."
Chill fingers danced up Mari's spine. "Get to the point, Morhion."
The mage pulled a sheaf of parchment from his belt and unrolled it on the table. He pointed to a series of runes. "This is the name Talek Talembar. It is written in Talfir, the language spoken in these lands a thousand years ago. Later, when folk came from the east, crossing the Sunset Mountains to settle the Western Heartlands, they brought their own language with them. Many of the old names, of both people and places, were still used, but the tongue of the easterners contained different sounds than the speech of the Talfirc. As a result, the old names were bastardized-their pronunciations changed-so they could be written in the new language."
Morhion pointed to another line of writing on the parchment. The letters looked vaguely familiar, but Mari couldn't quite read them.
"This is Talek Talembar' as it was written in the language of the easterners," Morhion explained. "Only it wouldn't have been pronounced the same as in Talfir. It would have sounded something more like 'Calen Cal-endir.' A few centuries ago, a new wave of immigrants came over the Sunset Mountains from the kingdoms of Cormyr and Sembia. These were our direct ancestors, Mari. They brought yet another language-the