Legends of Belariath
Hart
We are born alone. We die alone. In between is life.
Across the Great Ocean in a foreign land called Khephra there are men and women born to serve and protect. They are known as Avatars and Furors. The Avatars stand as individuals of great power, gifted by magic, believed to be touched by the gods. They are all marked physically, like a birthmark. They are the diviners, weather-watchers, healers and overall thaumaturgists. Their only weakness is that they are forbidden to touch the weapons of mankind.
As if passed on by divine edict, the gods were prepared for the danger such a sacrifice would cost their earthly Avatars and chose for them Furors. Furors are similarly marked by the gods to be elite warriors. They are taken in and trained to harness their inherent abilities bestowed by the gods and when they have ascended fully, they are chosen by an Avatar to be their eternal protector.
Men and women are both found in the roles of Avatar and Furor and the balance is kept as they serve like priests and priestesses under the watchful eyes of their guardians. Like Avatars, Furors also suffer a sacrifice - they are forbidden to learn the arts of magic. Their only purpose is to protect their Avatar from all harm. They are also forbidden from intimacy with Avatars, though they are not restricted and encouraged to take any lovers they desire. Some do not as they are so devoted to their duties.
The way of life for Furors is one of Guardianship, the closest comparison Nanthalion's can make are Knights, which lacks the caste-like rigidity of the Furors destiny. But in the land across the sea from Khephra is not restricted by the spiritual confines that the Avatar and Furor's homeland is...
Furor Hart reigns from Khephra, as to did his Avatar. They came to the new world as ambassadors, Avatar Neith to become a bride and Hart to continue his guardianship. In Khephra, a war brewed along the Great Barrier Mountains as the vast Empire of Serre threatened to overthrow the spiritual society of the Avatars and Furors.
Neith's marriage would secure a warlord's army and assistance in battling the influence of the Serrese Empire, who harbored a distinct advantage over Khephra. They had an army. In Khephra, there was no army. Avatars and Furors were the only form of law keepers, acting under the guidance of the Archon caste and it had proven all that was necessary to maintain their society. But there were not enough Furors to battle a full Serrese army and the Avatar's were in greater danger as Serrese agents were not afraid to use their magic to bring the revered Avatars down.
Their arrival was a great shock. Clothing, customs and behavior all combining to stun the Khephrites. After a time of adjustment, Neith and husband Lord Kerron were blessed with a child. A child, that bore the mark of the Avatar. As Lord Kerron and Neith's personal bodyguard, Hart took it upon himself to find a suitable pupil in the barbaric world of his lordship to train as a Furor for the child. The birth of the child was already a great wonder, for no Avatar in the history of Khephra had ever been a wife, or a mother.
All was well as the Khephrites aclimated to their new world and Lord Kerron's country continued to bolster the Khephra defenses along the Barrier Mountains in long absences from his wife. Disaster was inevitable and almost expected to occur during just such an absence.
Hart enjoyed the benefits of a seasoned warrior and the consideration of a family member. He was the child Tamnet's uncle as far as Neith and Kerron were concerned. On an evening where he told stories of Khephra to a seven year-old Tamnet and her recently graduated Furor Daton with Neith in attendance, the contentment was violated.
In a vicious counter, Serre had sent an assassin of magic. Calling up a malevolent bane spirit, the assassin cast it upon the Avatars to devour their magic and souls. Without thought or hesitation, Hart threw himself infront of the spell's path. Like a stone absorbing an enchantment it seemed the bane spirit was drawn into him and neutralized.
Dispatching the assassin, Neith and Tamnet rejoyced at Hart's bravery and sacrifice. In admiration, Daton requested the knowledge of how Hart had blocked the assassin's spell. As stunned as they, Hart simply shrugged and ushered the family inside to safer grounds as a nagging forboding settled over his heart.
For weeks nothing amiss seemed to come of his dark feelings of looming disaster and Lord Kerron returned to report that other Avatars had not been so fortunate. It seemed of all those visited by assassins, two dozen, only one had the benefit of a brave Furor that had similarly sacrificed herself and apparently come to no harm.
Shortly thereafter Hart began to feel the stirrings of malecontent in his heart. Like an insidious, whispering conscience it urged him to sinful acts, taunting his good sense and morals. Then, with an unexpected force, the conscience became powerful. Unknown to Hart, it was attempting to break free of his mortal flesh. But in the intended coupe, all the bane was able to do was overwhelm the unsuspecting Hart and gain control of his flesh.
On a rampage, Hart's bane controlled body destroyed rooms and attacked estate guards, servents and guests. Unable to escape, unable to use any of its incredible magical power, utterly imprisoned within Hart, it subsided. In horror, Hart was forced to look upon the devestation he had wrought. While Kerron and Neith believed his explanations, they balked at his request to be confined. After a time and Hart's repeated appeals, they locked him within one of the dungeon rooms.
Weeks and then months passed until word came from Khephra that the female Furor that had similar circumstances to Hart's, had killed herself before further endangering her Avatar and friends. At the news, Neith forbid Hart to learn of the dire news and instead went to him. At his request, she spoke to him through the door, able only to see his face in shadow.
“I have not needed to command you in years, Hart. You have forseen my needs and the needs of my new family. But now, I must command you.” At her pause, he sighed deeply.
“Your need is my command. I will always serve you, my Avatar. My sister.”
At his vow, she voiced her order with trembling conviction. “Leave, Furor Hart. Leave the lands of my husband and do not return to the lands of your birth. Go into this new country, for you will find no way to alleviate your curse in this dungeon. Magic has cursed you, and only magic can counter it. I command you to go out and seek a mentor to teach you magic.”
For days after her orders he vehemently refused, pacing his dungeon cell like a jungle cat. Every time he even considered learning magic, a sphere of power reserved only for the Avatars, he shuddered. But every day, Neith would return and demand of him his promise. By the fifth day, he conceeded and was released. Clothing and gold was gifted to him from his sorrowful neice and devoted pupil. He set out, resolute, but heavy hearted to fulfill his last vow to his Avatar.