Chapter 35: The Tale of Hakkan and Destor
And in Herophet did Hakkan hear the tales of Destor and Hayn on Arrasia and there was a great anger within him and he sent Fandrig to Raman, a devil of great power. And Fandrig came into the Great Hall of Raman unlooked for and brought with him his foul minions and they came to Destor and a great fight ensued and Destor was swamped by them. But Destor was not alone and Hayn came to him and they fought with Fandrig and though his evil was great, he was defeated and killed.
Thus was it that Hakkan sent a second of his servants to Raman, Waqranaq, a great wyrm whose breath was as acid and who was filled with the evil of Herophet. And so it came to Destor and there was violence between them and Waqranaq spewed its acidic bile all over him and he suffered greatly, but would be defeated not. And so it was that he grabbed the vile wyrm by its throat and squeezed until it breathed no more.
Destor now knew there would be no peace for him, so he went to Uther and again looked upon the face of Adria and his heart was once more greatly moved and he took a small lock of her hair and returned to Raman and there forged a mighty war hammer and into it did he place the lock of Adria and it was enthused with her and bore her mark and into it he did also pour his own power and he called it Aruk, the Hammer of Adria, and it was mighty indeed.
And for a time it seemed that Hakkan looked elsewhere and had forgot his feud with Destor, but this was not so, for he built a mighty beast of iron that he called Getgring and when he was done, Destor was attacked for a third time. And Getgring smashed his way through Raman and there was much destruction and the servants of Destor ran before it or were slaughtered. Thus did it come to the Great Hall of Raman and smote asunder the great doors and fought with Destor and Hayn, who stood by him. And Raman was shaken from the violence of their struggle and Getgring was mighty powerful and would not be defeated, until Destor laid his hand upon Aruk and his mighty blow shattered Getgring, who was destroyed.
So it was that Destor called to Oida to ferry him to Herophet and there came to the gates of the dark citadel and he unleashed Aruk and a great light was cast in Herophet and the darkness was lifted and Hakkan himself felt the pain of it on him and there was a dread within him and the wound of Ered did open and bleed. And Destor smote the gates of Herophet and tore them asunder and came to Hakkan and saw his old wound and knew this was the mark of Adria. And Hakkan also saw the mark of Adria, in the shape of Aruk, and he trembled as a great fear took him.
And though he called his servants to him, they came not, for the light of Aruk was great and they could not endure it and Hakkan was alone. And he was filled with a great rage and cast aside his fear and they fought and all of Herophet shook from their blows, but Aruk struck him and he fell with the pain of the blow and his old wound bled yet deeper. And again he attacked Destor and again he was struck down and his strength seemed drained. A third time did he rise and a third time did Aruk strike him and knock him down. And it seemed that Hakkan was done for, for he was weak and the wound of Ered was deep and the pain of Aruk great.
Yet it was that Yerraz came also to Herophet and, though the pain were great, he suffered the light of Aruk and there saw Hakkan and Destor and he made for Destor and attacked him and there was a great struggle between them. And also came Voln, for she too had felt the violence of Aruk and in Herophet she also saw the mark of Adria. But she laughed, for Adria was defeated by her before, and would be again and Destor heard this laugh and was distracted and he saw Voln and as he did so was he struck down by Yerraz and did drop Aruk which caused the very ground to burst open and the air was filled with a great light that blinded all.
And Aruk did fall and fall and came to Arrasia, where it fell from the skies and smashed into the ground, which was shaken and rent. And tremors did cause the ground to shake in a great violence and a great crack appeared and swallowed up all that it touched and from it was thrust great rocks and there were mountains where before there were none and they were called the Urdmoon Mountains - the mountains from the sky - and there would the dwarves later come to escape from Amman and build Kri-Aruk, a magnificent citadel, and they looked to Destor for guidance and gave to him their reverence.
But in the blinding light Destor saw the face of Adria and he followed her, for she summoned him, and though he knew not where he traveled, for he could see naught but her face, he did arrive on the shores of the River Mothex in Damarkan and did fall to the ground and though he knew it not, it was where Uther had lain and where Adria had come to him. But now was it that Rougon came to him and returned him to Raman and there healed him and returned him from his deathbed.
And in Raman did did they spend their time together, though in melancholy, and their lands seemed filled with sorrow and the sadness of Adria was heavy with them. Yet it was that Sassa was born to Rougon and Destor and in her it seemed that Adria was reborn, for her like was so similar. And she suffered not the pain of the others and around her was merriment and mirth and she was a joy to behold.
In Herophet the wounds of Hakkan were deep and not so easily repaired and Voln returned him to Sota and there he lay a long while in a deep sleep and none could wake him. But the wounds did heal, though the old wound caused him great pain, and he awoke and returned to Herophet and for a time did hide there in the darkness.