Age of Souls

by Garrett Stevens

  The panic had spread fully through the marketplace. Her eyes locked on a hiding spot up the passage. Latisha knew that she could stay within the rocks and remain hidden until they passed with a good vantage.

  “Take what you can, it’s a long road ahead.” An authoritative order from their commanding officer shifted their kill patterns to collecting food and other supplies from the carts and stalls.

  The odd soldier able to grab one of the slower scrambling civilians, was quickly dispatched before rummaging around in their merchandise. Luckily, Latisha was able to get to her hiding spot before anyone was able to take notice of her and watched the mayhem below.

  Trying to focus on the insignia on their cuirass’, she could make out a small circle of sharks around a demon like skull. There was another symbol on their shoulders that had three crescent lines opening down that all crossed each other like the top of a cloud with two vertical lines connected at the bottom in a peak and a thick long horizontal line just below. Smaller runes and symbols with curved lettering filled in along the lines that were too small to read but followed under where every line in the brand was.

  “The Sigil.” Latisha breathily whispered to herself.

  A strange calm came to the market when all the soldiers had filled their bags and those close by had been slain. The odd person would still be scampering away in fear of their life as the military group began shuffling back into formation. With the front of the squad starting to move south, the rest did their best to fall in line without further distraction.

  Darting her eyes through the lake of glittering steel as it moved past her, a more huddled group near the back of the ranks had a well armoured woman with wings laying on an elaborate steel stretched being drug by a handful of men and women.

  “I haven’t seen one in a time.” The voice echoed from ear to ear like it was trying to get a better vantage.

  “Must be important if they are taking their care with her. Look at the binds she is in.” Latisha whispered.

  “Has to be connected.”

  “Course it does.” Rolling her eyes, she sighed.

  “The others always talked about the Spiri as a force worthy of our grace.”

  “Trying to upgrade me for a younger model?”

  “You would need to die before I was able to take another host. Even then I would need permissions from the Elders and that could take hundreds to thousands of years.” A short pause like it was thinking. “Their magic is different, older than my time and would likely tear me a part before I could gain balance.”

  “Don’t see how it would be connected.”

  “They are taking her somewhere with no care for who is in their way, they are in a rush.”

  “You were right Erisolin. We should have brought more blood.” Latisha slunk back into herself with a disappointment.

  “Might be some in Colde as a last resort. Or you will just have to give in to an adult blend. Likely to be stragglers along the way.” Erisolin sarcastically mocked her.

  “We should probably keep close to the Spiri. The Sigil can’t be up to any good with her.

  “Agreed. If you follow them, our connection should present itself.”

  “Let’s keep our distance and kill who we can. Should be fun.” Latisha had an evil grin behind her hood.

  As the last few clanking soldiers passed by the mountain pass, leaving the ruins of the morning market trailed behind them in a wake of death and chaos. Small chicken like birds scattered about gleeful with their free reign over the food on the ground. Corpses littered around in the carnage with a few carrion birds picking at the death already. Few brave merchants and travelers had started to trickle in the outskirts of the carnage to try and start the salvage of their lives.

  Latisha exited her hiding place and slid down the steep portion of path into the graveyard below. Grabbing a strewn bag and a couple loafs of breads, she stuffed a few misshapen fruits into it before turning to follow the armoured party. Keeping a slow pace and making sure the distance between them was sizable, she looked back at the mayhem and nodded and pulled on her hood to cover her face a little more from the sun.

  Chapter 28

  The tall Barbarian walking in front of them was silent as he blazed the trail through the snow. All the fur lined garb, the skulls and trinkets around his person never made a sound. The five of them curiously watched from behind with all their questions racing around in their heads. The dedication to his footing made easy passage for the rest of the group.

  Everyone had been walking for most of the day at a pace difficult to follow, especially with Kallis and Mara getting sluggish with their stamina tonic wearing off. Dominic tried to sling Mara’s arm over his shoulder to give her some support, but she pushed him off in a weak stubborn effort. Kallis noticed and sauntered over to him to take him up on his offer.

  In the distance, a long deep sounding of a tribal horn rose through the fading light of the day. Another long blast from the horn echoed its welcome to the city but also a warning to the residents. The forest they had been walking through suddenly stopped and exposed a massive field of icy white that stretched out further than they could see. With the help of the falling snow, it made it nearly impossible to see anything beyond.

  The glacier sat against the bluff of the cliff, the ocean waters beyond rippled its waves through the wind breezing above. Sounds of aquatic birds chirping through the skies above, ghosted by the falling snow, made a homey feel to the frozen plain. Oddly placed wooden towers, crudely built, stood in an unknown pattern across the ice that could only be seen by their single torch burning against the evening sky.

  Stopping at a simple signpost with a strange language spelling out some sort of warning or welcome, their guide stopped with a thump and turned to the tiresome party filtering up to him.

  “Head inside to the throne room, Thron-din will need to speak with you as soon as possible.”

  The large man held up his hand and waved them towards the opening in the frozen field, a tunnel like entrance with snow covered steps at the top. Watching him carefully as they passed by to the stairs, the caution used on the frozen crystal steps created a delay before all six disappeared below the snow.

  “Have you ever been here before?” Chyla asked from behind Mya as they descended through the ice.

  “Once when I was small. I don’t remember.” Mya kept her eyes on the upcoming steps, trying not to slip.

  Each step they took was a different height from each other, making it difficult to keep a consistent pace and gauge the required weight to keep their footing. The tunnel was much taller compared to the six of them; large enough for the Barbarians to get around without need to duck or crouch. All the walls were made of a smooth snow or ice, like it had been melted with an intense fire which made it sparkle with a wet sheen. Small iron braziers hung from the ceiling of the tunnel with a random spacing. Their flames reflecting at them in the mirrored sleek ice above.

  Getting close to the bottom of the crude steps, the width of the tunnel flared out to a large landing set at the top of another set of frozen stairs. The new flight was a lot better crafted through the ice then the last set. Its clean edges and fine lines made for a royal entrance to the city below, shaped from and into the glacier ice. As Chyla got to the landing and slowly birthed her way from the tunnel, her jaw dropped at the view beyond.

  Slowly looking from side to side, she could see the entire city that was made entirely of ice and snow. Buildings littered her view as far as she could see. The consistency of the city was mesmerizing, with only a massive temple like building off in the distance that caught the eye. Thousands of lights flickered against the sheen of each structures ice from all the braziers, torches, and fires placed throughout. Fur lined animal skins scattered all over, inhabitants grabbing them when they needed for a place to stand off the ice, use as bedding or coverings for doorways.

  The grace of the city filled her up excitement with each new thing she took in. Being engagingly majes
tic of how beautiful the panorama was, a city of glittering diamonds catching the eye from all over. Small children playing between structures, kicking balls around, chasing one another. Men and women carrying loads of random items in baskets or boxes, shuffling around in their day to day. Every resident looked similar with their fur lined leather outfits and the assortment of tattoos or paint markings to finish off the tribal illustration of the Iceclaw Glacier.

  “The Heart Fire is straight through the city in the main building.” A large female guard made them all jump as she spoke.

  They were too busy taking in the view of the city that they didn’t see the four well-armed guards standing beside them. All stood in a short line on either side of the landing, holding a long elaborate spear.

  “Thron-din and the rest are waiting for you, please do not delay.” Another of the guards spoke in his harshly low voice.

  “Alright Darlings, no need to be angry.” Kallis smiled over to the guard and signaled to the others before starting down the next set of stairs.

  There was a fantastical essence from the city with how everything was made from the ice; from the top of the dome ceiling way above, to all the homes reflecting against the inner road and city folk going about their day. As the six of them made their way down the main road, few of the civilians would pay them any mind and would make an effort not to cross in their way. It looked like they knew they were going to be trouble, knew there was something not welcome about them.

  “It’s such a beautiful city.” Chyla broke the parties silence.

  Kallis bent down as she trotted up beside her and wrapped her arm around Chyla’s neck.

  “This is only the first level darling. There are still the Lower Quarters and the Port which takes a bit to get to because it’s so far down in the glacier.” She twirled her finger in little circles towards the ground.

  “Wouldn’t it be cold living within all this ice?” Chyla followed up another question.

  “The city was carved out with magic by the first Shaman, Kol-din. She was a beautiful, towering specimen of a woman.” Kallis leaned over and got close to Chyla’s cheek. “You would have liked her.”

  “The magic envelops the entire glacier and has been holding since the day she died, giving all the residents their comfort and safety within the ice. Touch it.” Kallis pointed to the corner of a home they were coming up to.

  Chyla slid her hand along the side of one of the building as they passed by and in a surprised snap of her head, looked back at Kallis. “It’s warm.”

  “The warm ice also has its fun,” Kallis laughed and used her hip to bump Chyla slightly with a wink. “In the better times of the day.”

  Chyla smirked coyly and blushed.

  The depth of the city seemed to go on forever as they made their way to the large oval temple. Mya, Mara, and Chyla all couldn’t keep their heads still, trying to take in everything that was going on around them. The families gathering their furs for the homes, trades happening for materials in market stations, stables full of horses and larger wolf like creatures. Mya pointed towards them and turned to the others like a kid in a candy store.

  “Krampan, I have never seen one before. They’re huge.” Mya’s face was lit up in her excitement.

  “One of many beasts the Barbarians have for their use, other tribes across the world have other mounts that are equally impressive.” Kallis responded to her as they walked.

  “Their magic is some of the best in any of the stories we have documented; from the mountainous snow mires in the far north in Mudiirfjall, the golden hills within Xen’lo, and the dark places within Curnashii to the south-east.” Mya bobbed her head a little trying to think of some of the stories she read and bounced her backpack to try and free a fold in her cloak.

  “Their spells make some of the most beautiful things in this world and usually for the betterment of living. The better uses of magic.” Kallis smiled at Mya’s awe inspired happiness.

  “The spells that hold it all together are one of the reasons the North has the continuous snowfall.” Dominic’s stern voice cut into their fun making Kallis stick her tongue out at him in jest.

  Slowly making their way through the frozen boulder like homes, there wasn’t anything that did not have some sort of ice component to it. A dream-like world they all found themselves in, was magical and inspiring. Every resident covered in some sort of tribal feathering and tattoos, showed a lot of skin for a people that live surrounded by ice, but their hefty stature and bearing gave off an intimidating atmosphere.

  In the distance was the ever-growing structure that looked like a frozen comet collided into the glacial dome with its trail still trying to catch up. A billow of smoke cascaded its way from a hidden opening in the top of the off-shape ball that caught on to the tail of the art piece, creating a reverse looking waterfall effect as the smoke trickled its way up to the main dome ceiling. Resting briefly at in a single place, collecting before seeping into the ice above and disappearing.

  Chyla kept tripping on nothing during her distraction and fell against Mya who was much in the same. They picked themselves up and looked at each other before blushing and smiling at each other. Skipping a step to catch up to the others, Dominic gave them a parental glare before turning back to his own footing.

  “We are here.” Dominic cut back with a serious tone, drawing their attention to what they were here for.

  The towering ovoid building before them had a massive leathery entry for a door. It looked to be formed from some huge animal skin. Two massive dragon claws formed out of the ice held an iron ball which encased an immense fire. A large banner on either side of the doorway carried the symbol of two bears being held by a white dragon claw. Ornate artwork and runes trimmed along the outside edges to give it a royal feel.

  Four guards stood on either side of the brazier claws, all dressed in a regal, yet tribal steel armouring. All with massive war axes that looked like they could be used as a shield as well as a weapon.

  “They are waiting for you inside.” One of the female guards to their right spoke up as they got closer.

  Dominic nodded and pushed the leather skin to the side before stepping through. Kallis quickly followed, trying not to be caught by it falling behind them. Chyla pushed her way through the opening with a bit of a struggle against the weight of it, letting it drape along her as she went.

  Mara following in closely, slipping her wings against the ice edges of the entry, shortly followed by Mya, who looked back at the city with a sorrowful look and with a sigh stepped into the comet-like building.

  “The gates are open Dhaalj, we must not falter. Low realm opens the way to more than just the other Dragon children.” A tall barbarian towered over all the others that stood around the bon fire.

  His voice echoed through the building like it was coming from everywhere. Each of the four others that watched him had a stoic look about them. Royalty and leaders from far off lands to discuss the matters of Vulthrodin.

  The woman he spoke to was a tall and slender, dressed in a very revealing dress that stood on his right. Her skin looked scale-like as if she was bred from a dragon or some other reptilian creature. A slender tail could be seen slowly waving behind her from under her the black dress.

  The dress had small thin bands from over her shoulders that stretched vertically down across her breasts and connected just below them with a ring that went around her waist and draped down to her hips that finally connected on the sides near the bottom. With her stomach exposed, the bottom of the dress had simple thin straps that weaved between her legs and circled out from between her legs to cover down to her bare feet with an elaborate weave.

  “The Eyeless and The Velt will be able to join with the Neightur.” In a surprisingly soft and gentle tone Dhaalj craned her reptilian neck slightly towards Thron-din in subtle and gentle motions. Her flat yet humanoid-like features looked a little childish but still very refined.

  “It is not the end of the world, there i
s still hope if we can get the Elders their relics and seal the gate to allow the seals to form once more. We are part to fault with the seals breaking in Curnashii and Keemiske, but Mudiirfjall and Xen’lo were not even protected when the Neightur showed up.” Thron-din’s voice boomed over everyone again.

  The character to Dhaalj’s right was a short hunched over figure with a golden fur all over its body. His features were very cute and friendly, a life like toy taken from a child’s play pen. Larger ears drooped down to the side and twitched with every little snap or crackle from the fire, along with any other shuffle of sound beyond a normal level of hearing. He wore a shiny plate mail cuirass over his plump body that clinked and scraped as he shuffled his footing.

  “We was none prepared when mages of old flood tunnels. Tribes never rescue the mushroom fields or …” The little furry warrior looked down at the ground in frustration, not knowing the next word.

  “Support.” The feline-like man from across the fire filled in the rest of his sentence which perked him back up, putting a wide smile across his foxy bearish face.

  “Burskij appreciate.” The little furry ball of armour stood up tall and saluted with a hand on his shoulder.

  “I do apologize Burskij, the tribes were not prepared or in fact failed to see them coming into Curnashii. There is something about your territory that hinders our sight to the magics of the realm.” Thron-din looked toward him with an apologetic expression.

  Burskij nodded and looked back into the fire.

  “Our guests have finally arrived.” Thron-din called out his billowing voice towards the five standing in the entry. “Come to the fire young ones.”

  All six standing at the entrance listening to the conversation took a defensive stance at the uncomfortable stare from everyone at the fire. Dominic stepped forward in hopes to break the tension and drag the rest along.

  “Thank you for coming Dominic Wick.” Thron-din looked directly at each of them as he greeted them. “Welcome back Kallis Nettlepot, please stay away from the barrel stores this time. Mya Uridine, nice to see again, you have grown into a lovely woman. Where is your sister?”