Fistandantilus Reborn - Douglas Niles [63]
“Fistandantilus!” Foryth held up a single finger, as if that one word held the key to all of his plans and ambitions. Apparently observing that Danyal wasn’t terribly impressed, he continued. “I’m a historian, seeking to chronicle the story of Krynn’s greatest archmage. Specifically, there’s a man who lives in Loreloch who went there after the Seeker priests were thrown out of Haven.”
“I’ve heard of Haven,” the lad declared proudly. “That’s where my ancestors came from, not too long after the Cataclysm.”
Foryth might not have heard; at least, he made no adjustment to his own tutorial “This man, the disgraced Seeker, declared that the archmage Fistandantilus was a god, and that he himself was the high priest of the religion. For a time, he had quite a few followers-until, of course, the Seekers were shown to be false priests.”
In spite of himself, Danyal found himself fascinated by the story. “That was when the dragons came, right? And people learned that Paladine and the Dark Queen were still here, could still answer prayers?”
“Aye, the two great lords live, and so do many other gods as well.
Gilean, the patriarch of my own faith, and gentle Mishakal. And others who are less benign as well.
“But back to my story: This false priest was driven from Haven and, with a small band of followers, he seized the stronghold of Loreloch for himself.”
“Didn’t the highlords object?” asked Danyal. “I mean, I know I wasn’t born yet back then, but I heard that during the war they even came to Waterton and made folks pay them with food from every harvest. Or else they threatened to send their dragons in and destroy the town.” The lad shuddered as his mind conjured up a vivid memory of just that. He looked at the man out of the corner of his eye, relieved to see that Foryth had apparently not noticed his distress. For some reason, he wanted to keep that incident a secret for now.
“They may have done the same to Loreloch. Gilean knows, they could have sent a dragon to raze the place if they were displeased,” the man admitted. “I don’t know why they didn’t, to tell you the truth. Perhaps they simply paid no attention, or maybe he was too small a pest to warrant the trouble.”
Foryth cleared his throat, and Danyal realized the man was organizing his thoughts, restoring his direction after the question.
“There was another unique feature about this priest of Fistandantilus.
Unlike most of the Seekers, this priest had at least one unnatural power:
Though he had been the head of his sect for something close to a hundred years, he had never been known to age. It is said that he survived the war, which ended more than twenty years ago, of course. I’m wondering if he still possesses the same youthful appearance as he did back then, though his church was cast down and he was lucky to escape into banishment.”
“Lucky?” queried Danyal.
“Compared to dead, I should say so. After all, no less a personage than the dragonarmy highlord had issued an order for his death. And now, from Loreloch, he makes occasional raids into neighboring villages, preying upon the highway traffic into and out of Haven and the coastal ports.”
“Don’t the Knights of Solamnia object to his robbing people and stuff?”
On several occasions during his life, Danyal had seen one or two of the armored warriors pass through Waterton. He vividly remembered his impressions of dignity, might, and awe-inspiring competence and capability. “I’d guess that no one could get away with crossing them,” he suggested earnestly.
“Well, you’re right about that last. Still, the knights have been awfully busy since the war. They’ve tried to restore some order to their realms, and they had another invasion of Palanthas to face just a few years after the Dark Queen was defeated. Too, down here the Newsea cuts you off from the centers of knightly power, although there is one knightly marshal, named Sir Harold the White. Still, he has a great territory as his responsibility, so, no, I would say that Loreloch is a little too much of a backwater to