by James Hunt
"No."
"But-"
"Leave me alone!"
Her cry echo across the empty chamber, and silence kept her company.
* * * * *
"I said stand down!" Niyana shouted. Her sword Dekarsil was in her hand and ready to strike Rad down.
"Your grace," Rad said calmly, with only slight reverence that bordered on sarcastic. "this elth does not answer to you."
"I do not command him, Disruptor..." Niyana replied icily. Her hands tightened on the handle of her sword. Even with Rad's back to her, she did not want to attack of fear of what he would do. "You gave me your oath, do you remember?" There was a barely noticeable twitch in the man's cheek. The sky rider noticed, and relaxed his freezing grip on Rad's foot. "Release him, now." she commanded with all authority.
Rad lifted his foot off the rider. The elf careful rose to his feet.
"Enough bloodshed." Niyana said softly and gently so that only these two men could hear it. Then in a clearer, louder voice that rang out she spoke. "My Lord Rider, although I know this man and he is bound to me by his word, until today and this very battle, we have been separated for many weeks. His actions were not supervised by my command." Niyana said hastily. She did not move until her kinsman had taken a step back, turned his head to look at his dying mount as it twitched.
"This human is thine abductor." The Rider said in grand Lunarin and rubbed the soreness from his neck. "He is to die by order of His Majesty." Niyana lowered her sword, planted it tip first into the blood soaked dirt, and rested her hands upon it to stand regally before him.
"I will speak to his defense, Rider. I have that right. Present your case." She arched an eyebrow at the skyrider. Knowing full well that this soldier was not privy to the intrigues that had brought them here. If he did... then he was in league with her brother, and she would release this Huanguard from his restraint and any soldiers that remained able would rise to her call and fury.
"I do not recognize thine authority, Thou art Courrupted.." He said and raised his hand to give a simple gesture to the sky.
Niyana's heart sank and a cold chill ran over her as the blood drained from her in panic. Time seemed to stop. The world grew uncertain. Her mind raced to find a way to stop the slaughter that was about to happen of all those here. All her comrades that had fought and died so bravely to save this world from a terrible evil were about to be assaulted by Lunar's strongest millitary force. They would all die here, and their heroism would be forgotten to time.
The drakes circling above dove towards the buildings commanded by their riders. Her heart broke. Her lungs filled with air and she meant to shout out to the heavens her wrath and protestation. Something caught her eye and the words stopped in her lungs. A distortion of air flew overhead. It was not an object, but a bubble of magic. She watched it soar high above, coming from somewhere behind one of the buildings. She read Rad's cold calm demeanor as he watched as if expecting it and recognized what it was - the beginnings of a trap about to spring.
The sky riders saw the magic bubble soaring up to meet them and banked away from it. It detonated an instant later with an earsplitting bang that shattered all the glass windows around them. Niyana stumbled backwards, knocked from her feet and clutching her sensitive ears. Her head rang, vertigo washed over her, and she felt a warm trickle flow down the sides of her cheeks. She wiped away the blood that was dribbling out of her ears, then glaced at the sky dizzily to see the drakes suffering and struggling to stay aloft. The Rider beside her was also on his knees clutching at his head. But this was just the beginning she knew. Rad did nothing in half measures.
Arrows erupted from the low rooftops in a scattering barrage to cover as much of the sky as possible. They exploded and filled the air with a thick white haze. The Skyriders righted themselves, descended and made for the buildings before the smoke could obscure them completely. Elves, Lunarin and Zecairin, revealed themselves from their rooftop hiding spots and dropped to the ground. They quickly scrambled to crawl under the buildings through the foundation spaces. Niyana was being dragged away with a rough hellish fervor as if what was coming next would kill everyone of them all. She managed a glance at Kalek holding her by her collar as he slid into the dirt at the buildings foundations and pulled her into the crawl space between the stone bricks by her feet. She only had a heartbeat to glance up to see Rad's smirking face as one last final arrow shot into the sky trailing a wisp of fire.
Just as the drakes started to emerge from the cloud, the fire arrow reached it, and the sky exploded into searing brilliance.
* * * *
"What do you want child?" she pleaded.
"You killed him."
"They killed him." she corrected.
"You made him a monster."
"I gave him his heart's desire, power and strength to keep you safe." she countered. "I could not control his foolish actions. He boldly took on the dragon, and died for it."
"You made the dragon."
"Again, I merely gave him his heart's desire. He could not handle such a gift, it poisoned his mind." she pleaded. "I want to give you that gift. With me beside you, you could bring him back. Make him how you want him. Human... Elf... half of both... or none at all."
Silence.
"I do not shape the hearts of men or elves. I just want to be free! So I bargain with them, I pay them for my freedom, but they never deliver me!" she wailed. "Oh please, set me free. Let me in, child. Let me join with you and save me from this oblivion."
"you killed him..." she snarled, and shut the door of her mind.
* * * *
"Thou are truly an abomination. I would see all mankind culled to prevent more like thee from being born." the Rider hissed. His elevated Lunarin speech did not lend itself well to aggravated threats.
"I am not human," Rad said calmly in low Eltharin. "I merely look human."
"You will not have her." Tarin grumbled.
Niyana stirred. The voices she barely perceived grew more solid as she groggily came to.
"I will remain free," Niyana wheezed, and sat up. The world was black. She blinked and then squinted, but nothing changed. "I will not be shackled to the madness of my brother."
Hands touched her shoulders. They startled her. She was not used to barely being able to perceive her surroundings. They touched her forehead, and a warm soothing sensation seeped into her face through her temples. Slowly the world became filled with colors and shapes again. They stung at first, as her eyes were healed from the blindness, and she could make out Tarin's fatherly grimace. Behind him stood Kalek, looking very weary but also concerned for her. The Sky Rider, the one that had met with them and whose mount had been shot in the eyes, was sitting nearby tied to a chair. Not far beside him, Rad was being bandaged up by Alysi. The girl had a black expression on her face as she tried to set his mangled arm as best she could with some scraps of cloth and some sticks.
They were in the remains of the chapel. All the windows had been shattered, and sections of wall had been blown inward. Bodies of the injured were laid around this place. Some on the floor, some on pews, some leaning against the walls of their own accord, but too weary to do much else.
"To defy Lunar invites misfortune." the Rider responded a bit dismayed, "His Highness will be most furious." To which Rad snorted, and was about to respond before Niyana stood up and approached the Rider.
"I was sold into Zecairin slavery," She said hoarsely and locked the Rider with a glare so menacing it would wither the living. Indeed, he seemed to shrink from it reflexively. "I have been raped. I have been beaten and cut upon. I have had my mind poisoned and stolen from me. I have had my childhood love branded Yvarna and sent to kill me. I have had my reputation tarnished amongst my family in the Knights." She unfolded her arms from her chest and hefted the rider up, chair and all, by his collar until they were eye to eye. She remarked on his handsome face for a moment - he had shallow pale cheeks, long thin platinum hair, and gorgeous black eyes, he was tr
uly a lord of the old ways. That was a pity. "When that did not stop me, he sent you. There is nothing more that he can do to me. But there is plenty left that I can do to him."
She dropped the rider unceremoniously, and struck him across the jaw with her fist.
An uncomfortable silence followed that crack of bone. The Rider dared not whimper from the pain, but breathed through his nose to steady himself against it. Niyana looked around the room at the survivors. Those that would meet her gaze, looked away with pain in their eyes, and she did not blame them. Barely half had survived. Barely half...
"Tamain and his people?" She inquired to Tarin and Kalek. "Elsewhere. Resting." Tarin grumbled bitterly. "Great Mother have mercy on them. Small as they were, their loss was just as great."
She left the chapel in a hurry to find him.
She didn't get far as the sight of the destruction of the monastery stopped her. The smell of the burnt dead assaulted her nose, the reek of spilled entrails and blood mingled with the cooked stink of wood, clay and flesh. She lifted her sleeve to her face to closed her eyes before she retched from it all. It would be a small expenditure of magic to blow in fresh air, but it wouldn't solve the problem.
She found him standing in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by the dead of the battle His poise was calm, his feet apart, his limbs loose, he was sensing for something. She approached quietly so as not to disturb him. Once she was within casual earshot, his head lowered from the sky and he turned to greet her. Niyana bit back the cry of grief when she saw his mangled left eye - cut out by a weapon and hastily mended by his own hand in order to stay in the fight. It was a mess of bright pink scar tissue amid a sea of rich charcoal skin. His one good eye, fierce and blue, regarded her with a fire and turbulence. He was horribly upset.
"I cannot find her." He said quietly, his voice quavering on the edge of grief and rage. "Sharla... Pebbles... I cannot find her. I can't listen to the wind, the headaches will start again." His hands clenched into fists. For a moment, her instincts grew suspicious and wary of his intentions, but she knew this man. They had spoken in heartfelt and in earnest. She trusted him and his allegiance.
Niyana boldly stepped closer to her shadow elf friend. She took his face in her hands, and pulled his cheek down to her shoulder, and held him to her. The tension in his arms relented, they responded by embracing her in return, and a long heavy sigh escape his lips and broke his composure. He didn't cry, he didn't shudder in contained grief, her merely let himself let go of it all for this one moment.
"Tam?" Came an uncertain, timid voice from across the courtyard. Kelria approached them with a wobbly Corella leaning on her for support. Niyana let him go, motioned them over, and took a moment to inspect his wound while he was busy looking at them. It could be repaired, but it would take time, magic, and concentration she didn't have right now. They needed to conserve themselves until all survivors were accounted for.
"Rollis is helping to search the hills for survivors." Tamain said slowly, deliberately. As if the words were a brace keeping him from falling apart. "Ut'van is in the chapel, he lost an arm, and Katral." He paused before speaking again. Taking a step closer to show that despite his marred face, he was well and able. "I have found the others," He said with an emotionless tone to his voice. "But I have not found Pebbles." he added very slowly as he dreaded the words.
"We did." Kelria said soothingly. Knowing now, why he was so stone faced. "She'll be fine. She jumped the wall before the blast, and got caught in it. The landing broke both her legs." Tamain took a deep, purposeful breath, tilted his head back and let the stagnant breeze calm him somewhat. It was as best a sigh of relief as he could manage if his heart wasn't so heavy with the other losses - Pemmi, Katral, Faosen, Gerrick.
"We should get inside, it'll be dark soon." Kelria said. "Tam can you help Corella? I'll... look for more." Tamain nodded and took Corella's other arm over his shoulder. The head wound Corella suffered at the hands of the shapeshifter would need to mend on its own. Using magic to heal the brain was too tricky for any of them to attempt it. Kelria watching him as they walked, wondering what kind of hell he had just lived through. She herself, had been tasking with keeping Corella safe back at the camp. When the fighting stopped they both were too curious to sit still and came looking. Tam felt Corella's limp arm twitch randomly against his shoulder, it wasn't a good sign, and he made a mental note to ask Tarin for help when they got her inside. He took one glance over his shoulder at Niyana, and saw that she had already moved off to survey the carnage.
"Thank you Tam," Corella said softly. "I know you kept her safe,"
"You should thank the human, Rad," Tamain replied uneasily. His words came and left him with each breath as he struggled to recount what he saw. It was such a frantic chaos he couldn't be sure of everything he thought he witnessed. "I was mending the fallen... She was in the middle of it... I don't know if he knew what she meant to me, but he kept an eye on her specially. He stayed beside her, gave her orders... gave her advice... taught her in the middle of combat, almost like she was his student or his responsibility. It was comforting, and uncomfortable at the same time."
"Is he a threat?" Corella said with concern.
"Ha!" Tamain snorted, "He's that slave bastard that killed that General in the capital! After the last Shadowraith here fell, he gave us a moment to tend the injured, but never kept his eyes off this one spot in the sky to the west. When we saw what he saw - and it wasn't me, it was one of the Lunarin's using their longsight, I couldn't see anything - they raised the alarm that Skyriders were coming. I almost shit myself right there. But before we could shit ourselves, he had a battle plan already laid out and started giving us orders for a trap." Tamain paused and shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what to make of it. What kind of human can do all that? He was giving me instructions earlier as well, told me to fly the Lunarians over the wall. I don't know how he knows everything, but he does." He laughed darkly to himself. "No, if he is a danger to us, then we're fucked for good. There's not a damn thing we can do against that monster."
"We saw that." She smiled at him. "The flying I mean. That was creative. His idea then? He must be some sort of mind reader to know you could do that, and that you could expand your flying trick without burning you out."
"He's a smart monster." Tamain muttered under his breath as they got closer and hobbled inside. "This changes everything. If Niyana's truly is his like he claims, then we don't want this deal anymore."
* * * * *
"Why can't I heal you?" Alysi spoke softly and secretively as she finished tying off the wrappings around Rad's chest. "You're resisting it."
"I was poisoned, by one of your arrows." Rad said with mock accusation. "What good would a poisoned arrow do against an Elth if you could just heal the toxin away with your magic?" Rad said with gentle sarcasm. He was amused as the heated blush drained from her face.
"What did you do?" Alysi whispered aghast. She knew the weapon he was talking about.
"I pissed off your king," Rad smiled smugly, beaming with false pride. Rad took a deep breath; as deep as he could with three broken ribs.
Niyana, Fryak, Selia, and Ranyen returned with bedding and mattress from the barracks. It was the last trip they needed to outfit the chapel for their makeshift camp. Quietly, Niyana closed the large oak doors behind her. The room grew quiet as she approached the Skyrider.
"That was cruel of me," she apologized as she reached out to touch the purple welt on his jaw. He stiffened as her hands came close, bracing for what torture she would inflict next, but instead she healed his broken jaw and took away the pain. He exhaled in relief and started to gingerly move his mouth around. "I did not want this. I recognized your rights, and I was willing to surrender for the sake of peace." she spoke softly. "Do not mistake my pacifism for weakness however. Today, I destroyed the body of an eldritch being in the catacombs of this place. She was a shadow of darker times. I do not need to say outloud their accursed name, y
ou know of what I speak." she practically whispered. The Skyrider listened intently but kept his face a blank mask of emotion. "These brave souls are all that survived of the army that slaughtered her guardians. Yes, some of them are Zecairin, and yes I knowingly enlisted their assistance against something worse than the shame of being labeled a kin-traitor." She saw his eyes look over the Zecairins collected in their corner of the chapel. His cheek almost twitched in racial hatred. Something heavy and metallic was laid in his lap, Dekarsil.
"This is an old Sylvain blade," Niyana added, taking a moment to brush hair dirtied from blood, soot, sweat and grime out of her equally messy face. "It kept the creature below trapped to the stone floor. When I touched it, the soul of one of our lost brothers spoke to me." The Skyrider's steeled countenance broke at that, and his eyes accused her silently of madness. She untied his hands from behind him. And he sat forward in the chair. "Touch it. Let it speak to you if you doubt me."