The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks [182]
Balinor noticed the baffled looks on the faces of the two Elven brothers and shot a quick smile in their direction.
“It’s not as bad as it might seem,” he assured them calmly.
Hendel shook his head hopelessly and lapsed into silence for the next few minutes.
“My younger brother Palance and I are the only sons of Ruhl Buckhannah, the King of Callahorn,” Balinor volunteered, his eyes wandering back toward the distant city as if looking for another time. “We were very close while growing up — as close as you two. As we got older, we developed different ideas about life... different personalities, as all individuals must, brothers or not. I was the elder, I was next in line to the throne. Palance always realized this, of course, but it divided us as we grew older, mainly because his ideas of ruling the land were not always the same as mine... It’s difficult to explain, you understand.”
“It’s not so difficult,” Hendel snorted meaningfully.
“All right, then, it’s not so difficult,” Balinor conceded wearily, to which Hendel responded with a knowing nod. “Palance believes Callahorn should cease to serve as a first line of defense in case of attack on the Southland people. He wants to disband the Border Legion and isolate Callahorn from the rest of the Southland. We cannot agree at all on this point...”
He trailed off in bitter silence for a moment.
“Tell them the rest, Balinor.” Hendel again spoke icily.
“My distrustful friend believes my brother is no longer his own master — that be says these things without meaning them. He keeps counsel with a mystic known as Stenmin, a man Allanon feels is without honor and will guide Palance to his own destruction. Stenmin has told my father and the people that my brother should rule and not I. He has turned him against me. When I left, even Palance seemed to believe that I was not fit to rule Callahorn.”
“And that scar...?” Durin asked quietly.
“An argument we had just before I left with Allanon,” Balinor replied, shaking his head as he thought back on the matter. “I can’t even remember how it started, but all at once Palance was in a rage — there was real hatred in his eyes. I turned to leave, and he grabbed a whip from the wall, striking out at me, cutting into my face with the tip. That was the reason I decided to get away from Tyrsis for a time, to give Palance a chance to regain his senses. If I had stayed after that incident, we might have...”
Again he trailed off ominously, and Hendel shot the Elven brothers a glance that left no doubt in their minds what would have happened if the brothers had had another altercation. Durin frowned in disbelief, wondering what sort of person would take sides against a man like Balinor. The tall borderman had repeatedly proved his courage and strength of character during their dangerous journey to Paranor, and even Allanon had relied heavily on him. Yet his brother had deliberately and vindictively turned against him. The Elf felt a deep sadness for this brave warrior, returned to a homeland where peace even in his own family was denied him.
“You must believe me when I tell you that my brother was not always like that — nor do I believe he is now a bad man,” Balinor continued, more as if he were explaining it to himself than to the others. “This mystic Stenmin bas some kind of hold over Palance that provokes him into these rages, turning him against me and what he knows to be right.”
“There is more to him than that,” Hendel interrupted sharply. “Palance is an idealistic fanatic — he seeks the throne and turns against you under pretext of upholding the interests of the people. He is choking on his own self-righteousness.”
“Perhaps you are right, Hendel,” Balinor conceded quietly. “But he is still my brother, and I love him.”
“That’s what makes him so dangerous,” the Dwarf declared, standing before the tall borderman, meeting his gaze squarely. “He no longer loves you.”
Balinor did not reply, but stared into the plainlands to the west and toward the city of Tyrsis. The others remained silent for a few minutes, leaving the