Bruce stomped his foot, unable to fully vent his rage. “This war will come to an end. Those who were trapped will be released. The Guardians judge all who walk across Dena.”
Gheta felt Remus shiver in fear and for the first time she felt ashamed to have such a clan spirit. Now the pressure was removed from her mind, she remembered times he had influenced her into decisions she wouldn’t have made.
Remus looked down at her. Their link allowed him to feel her emotions.
“Not of my clan,” Gheta, under all that pressure, was able to say with a terrifying look on her face.
Remus, a clan spirit of hundreds of years, recoiled as he could see all of her thinking, all of her anger. He could understand her feelings of anger, of despair, sadness and how violated she felt.
“Gheta,” Remus said, taking a stern tone.
“I have ordered the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands. I was influenced but it was my crime. I have sent people to kill civilians, the innocent, and the unarmed to draw in the enemy for an attack. I have sent people across the line to attack small villages so that I could draw the human army’s attention away. Prisoners would be too much of a problem. I thought it would be easier to kill them there, instead of bringing them back here. Looks bad when we have slaves, and if we have prisoners, people complain about how much it costs to have them on our soil,” Gheta said, feeling a weight lifting from her.
“Seems that the younger generation might have hope,” Bruce said.
There was a cry from above as the three werewolves went back into their host, who returned to his large human form. The phoenix descended from the heavens and grabbed Bruce and Damien, heading off to the east.
***
“What is that noise?” Fysher said in the middle of the meeting. He held up his hand and all of the people in the room tilted their heads, trying to hear what he was hearing.
Suddenly, someone pointed out of the castle as someone yelled.
There was a black object approaching from the distance. It was using all fours and looked as though it were made of…metal?
Something passed outside the window.
Fysher backed up in alarm and he looked down, seeing a man with golden wings. Underneath his feet, in the early morning sun, purple flames appeared. He turned and looked up at the tower; his eyes turned from gold to blue.
Fysher had stood on battlefields for most of his life, but now, his heart trembled as he looked at the demon in the middle of this fortress. Several courts appeared around him and chains shot out, grabbing people.
Chains shot through a window as Fysher and the other generals yelled out, trying to activate their familiars but being unable to do so. The command center turned into a scene of panic.
Fysher was brought in front of a courtroom that floated in the middle of the air. Stiff-faced men, women, and creatures looked at them.
A sense of disappointment and anger pervaded the air as they opened their mouths.
“What are your crimes and what are others’ crimes that you know of?” the human judge said, as if they wished there was anything else that they could do. All of those gathered started to talk as one.
General Fysher went through his life, from the time he had been a scared man, fighting to survive, to when he had been part of a slaughter, how excited he had been to get slave money for capturing a few. He had risen through the ranks and the joy of coins started to dull compared to the losses that he saw on the battlefields.
He had become older, tired, and wiser. He saw the forces at work behind it all. He would turn his eyes to the side so that he could have more forces to fight the day after tomorrow. Allow the sale of slaves so people could support their families.
“You will lead the United Armies, fighting beside those who had their family members killed by you, or those who you commanded. If you ever make it back from that war, you will spend your days working any job that you can find that will assist others. You will build homes, you will grow crops, you will never own anything in your life again. You will never touch armor or a weapon except in the defense of others. You will never stay in one land for more than one year, moving across all of Dena, seeing the world, knowing others,” the gnome judge said.
Fysher was drained. It had taken all day. The metal creature walked over to Fysher and knelt. He looked up, seeing the Guardian symbol on his chest.
“General Fysher. Time to stop this war. Dena’s fight for survival has started.”
General Fysher might have looked down on gnomes his entire life, but looking at this one inside his machine, General Fysher felt as if he were the small, defenseless one.
Fysher lowered his head, feeling sad for himself.
The gnome grabbed General Fysher and picked him up. “Come on, murdering others and sending the orders for a genocide is easy. Why should calling for peace be harder?”
General Fysher looked the gnome in the eye, squirming. He wanted to argue it, but he knew it was right. He had just admitted it. His brain was coming up with all kinds of defenses and reasons, but none of them left his lips.
“I’ll do it,” Fysher said.
“That’s the first step. Then you need to get everyone together and stop these doorways from forming completely. The longer you wait, the more people will die.”
Fysher was about to ask which people as he balled his fists, angry at himself, angry at his own response that burned more than anyone else’s words.
Chapter: The Stoha Mountains
Aila and Claire reached the barren mountains that marked the northern line between Selenus and Radal.
Claire led the way to the mountain. She walked into a cave that was hidden within the mountains. She pressed a hidden mechanism. There was a clinking noise but nothing happened.
“Well, how did you get in?” Claire asked.
“Uh, I think the entrance was over that way?” Aila pointed to her right, guessing.
“Magic it is.” Claire cast Stone Shape and the rock wall rolled open.
“Let me go first.” Claire went down the hallway with a mana barrier around her. Different traps activated; arrows and darts hit her barrier before a swinging axe smashed against her barrier.
There were flamethrowers, ice spears, and a spiked ball that shattered on impact.
Claire got to the end of the hallway. Destruction lay behind her and before Aila, who looked at it all with wide eyes.
“All right, that should have got most of it. Just run across now,” Claire said.
Aila took a breath and looked at Ramona and her young ones. They seemed to be giving her an apologetic look. She shook her head and ran forward before she could think about it.
She heard the machines that Claire hadn’t activated go off behind her, but she ran too fast for them to get her.
She stopped next to Claire, who had an odd expression on her face.
“Something wrong?”
“Well, I didn’t think that there would be quite that many traps left still.” Claire shrugged and led the way down another corridor.
“What?” Aila yelled.
Claire didn’t turn the corner into the maze-like area but warped the wall.
“Why is there a passage back here?” Aila asked, following Claire.
“’Cause I hate having to walk that far. You know how much caves can wear out your shoes—plus I left that to the dwarves to make. Who knows what they added in there.”
It wasn’t long until they reached the massive cavern. Aila looked at the tombstones and the faint markings on them. She hadn’t known what they had been before. Now she touched her own Guardian emblem, looking at the rows upon rows of Guardians who had fallen.
The duo walked through it all and headed toward the temple in the middle.
So much has happened since I was last here. I was running from Church of Light enforcers.
“As much as I hate it, at the end of it all, I was the highest ranked Guardian. With me losing my position, Anthony would have been next, then Tairlyn an
d Troga Kagan.” Claire led the way into the temple, past the different warriors who stood along the walls with their Guardian symbols.
In the center, a broken tomb lay open and a shattered knight statue stood in front of it all.
Behind him there were two tombs. Claire patted them as she moved past and reached a statue along the wall. She pulled the torch holder next to it. There was a click before the statue swung out, revealing stairs.
The two of them stepped onto the stairs. They circled the temple’s main area and reached the top. From the outside, it looked normal. Inside, it was covered in enchantments that ran across the dome’s ceiling, down the pillars around it, and to a series of magical circles that appeared on the floor.
Claire pulled out a circular piece. She lined it up with the enchantment on the ground and dropped it into place.
The enchantments flared to life and power started to flow through them. The entire area was lit up as enchantments across the temple started to come alive, reaching out and connecting to the tombs of the fallen.
Aila looked out from the temple. She looked around, seeing enchantments light up around all of the tombstones, outlining where the Guardians had been put to rest.
She couldn’t see through the fog all of the tombstones before; now they were all illuminated with power. The cavern started to shake as power was drawn in. Aila had never felt such a concentration before. Aila grabbed onto a pillar as the power pulled on her robes.
Claire stood in the eye of the storm, pouring out her own power into the enchantment. The glow increased and the dust was cleared from the Guardians’ resting grounds.
Mana started to appear in its different colors, coming together in a whirlpool of color that spiraled down into the central piece that Claire had added.
Aila couldn’t hear or yell hard enough to be heard as she held onto the pillar.
The Guardian eyes on the tombstones flashed and their glow increased in power.
“Come on!” Claire yelled as she poured in more power.
Mana crackled; different attribute mana collided with one another, fighting for dominance before coming under Claire’s control.
It went on for several minutes. The tombs started to leak mana and a mana fog appeared in the cavern.
The last of the power pouring into the temple dried up and Claire deflated.
Aila looked around, trying to make sense of all that had happened. “Did it work?”
“Does it look like it worked?” Claire snapped viciously as she looked at the enchantments.
Aila stood there awkwardly as Claire inspected all of the upper room and then traced the enchantments through the walls.
Aila took a seat, looking out over the cavern and looking at the rows of Guardians.
Claire used her necromancy powers and was able to revive everyone here. Would I be able to? Though I would lose my position as a Guardian, isn’t it for the best if I can do that to help all of Dena?
A day or two went by as Claire finished up checking all of the enchantments.
“I’m sorry I snapped earlier. All of the enchantments should be working, but—” Claire sighed in frustration, deflating.
“If I was to—”
“Don’t think about it, Aila Wranoris. There are still more options,” Claire snapped, seeing through her.
“As a last resort,” Aila said.
Claire let out a breath through her nose and held her words.
“Come, there is a dwarven outpost not far from here. It was made to protect the Guardians as they rested. It has been manned for all this time.”
“We’re going to leave?”
“We have tried one thing. We can make more attempts in the future. In the meantime, we need to get Dena organized instead of wasting our time down here.” Claire turned and started to walk out of the temple.
“You need to contact your clan and get their help with defending Dena. We will first head to see the dwarves, create a Guardian Flame, and see what is happening within Dena.”
Aila felt a mix of feelings as Claire talked about her home.
She followed behind, out to Ramona, Rachel, and Ryan.
Aila had been taking care of them and they had been foraging the last few days.
They secured their gear and mounted up, once again heading out into the cutting winds. It was green and lush in the plains below, but up here in the mountains, they were still a season behind.
Claire led the way as they climbed across the mountainous and barren region.
They dropped down onto a snow and ice-covered road that weaved through the mountains. Aila saw a road in the distance that went to the east; the road they were on went to the west.
It stopped at a squat mountain.
Aila studied the mountain in greater detail. It was rough in places and smooth in other places.
“Is that—?”
“Welcome to Shivernsin Keep, the northern stronghold built to cut off the northern lands from the rest of Dena and to protect the Guardians. It was only a small stronghold when I was last here. Now it has become a true city built for war.” Claire rode her beast forward as Aila stared at the massive creation.
There were several levels to the keep. The mountain that had once been there had been turned into a blocky home that faced the north, east, and west.
Only a little smoke rose from it, making one think it was an abandoned city.
They reached the gates to find dwarves looking at them with crossbows and rifles.
“Hey, hey! Aila W-something—you were with that guy that fell down a cliff.” A voice came from the parapet.
Aila looked up, frowning as she tried to see who was talking. “The—you mean you were one of the dwarves in that caravan?”
“Yeah! Oh, wait a minute! Put your weapons down.” The gruff voice came from inside and the weapons were pointed in a different direction.
It wasn’t long until the great doors creaked open to reveal several dwarves.
“Krosem?” Aila asked.
“Remembered my name—who is this?” Krosem asked.
Aila looked to Claire, who had hidden her face in her cloak.
“Show him your emblem,” Claire said to Aila. “We’re here to see the stronghold leader.”
Aila moved her cloak to the side and showed her Guardian emblem.
Krosem’s face turned serious when he saw the emblem.
“Tell him that the Guardians are back and we are in need of his services,” Claire said.
“Please come in. I will send a message to him.” He looked to one of the people with him. They hurried off and they entered the stronghold. The area behind the main gate was open with covered bridges reaching overhead to connect the outer wall to the blocky pyramid-looking stronghold.
Krosem got onto a boar and led the way. “So, where is that knight?” Krosem asked.
“He should be to the south right now, looking for our friend’s father,” Aila said.
“The south is chaotic right now—talks of Guardian Flames appearing all over the place, the beast kin have apparently invaded, there are doorways to the Drafeng opening. We have war bands out destroying the doorways we can find.” Krosem hesitated for a second. “With the humans blowing up the passages in the north, it has blocked us off from the northern plains, where the Drafeng main attack came from. We are clearing passages into the land to destroy any doorways that might be there.”
“It has created a natural barrier?” Claire asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I would bet that they are up there. Smart—using the humans to create a blockade and defenses for them,” Claire said.
“Still, while we are blocked off, if they want to enter Selenus or Radal, then they will need to come through us. Still, we haven’t confirmed it, though,” Krosem said.
They entered through massive wooden gates, entering the stronghold.
It was warm inside. The heat here was trapped inside, warming the entire stronghold. She looked up, seeing the
bridges that ran across the different floors. It made the inside feel open, but without losing its homely and rough feeling that made one feel as if nothing could ever stop the stronghold.
They headed deeper into the stronghold. There were four open areas at each corner, with a large inner stronghold and supporting walls.
As they entered the inner stronghold, Aila saw open areas that led into the depths.
“Dwarves might build homes on the surface, but their strength is underground. One-fifth of their building might appear above the land. It is why no one should underestimate a dwarven hold or keep,” Claire said. “If needed, the battlefield and the surrounding area can be destroyed, then the complete Shivernsin Keep can be revealed.”
“You seem to know a lot about our keep,” Krosem said.
“Well, I helped to build and design it. I know that there were a number of your dwarves who went to the islands for training to be judges. How are they doing?”
Krosem looked at Claire in alarm, unable to see through her hood. “They have kept and maintained the peace of Shivernsin for generations.”
“I heard that you recently had a group of gnomes join you. Gnomes, goblins, dwarves, and even some humans, beast kin and dark elves,” Claire said with approval.
Krosem cleared his throat.
“You see, they don’t want to tell anyone else about the races that live here. The Church of Light hate them already, but the defenses here are too strong to assault. The beast kin don’t care; it is one less place they have to fight to defend or attack. Though if there were beast kin here, then they might lead a crusade to make sure that they weren’t slaves. Even if people came out and said that they were not slaves, they wouldn’t stop till they won.”
“I knew that there were dark elves who would travel to the south to trade with dwarves. I guess you are one of those groups?” Aila asked.
“Yes.” Krosem dismounted. “Your mounts will be cared for. Follow me.”
They left Ramona and her pups behind. They reached a wooden platform. The platform started to go higher and Claire and Aila looked around.
A Skeleton's Duty (Death Knight Series Book 4) Page 7