Emma thought about what Rachel said. She was always amazed at how insightful the girl was.
* * * * *
Sasha's wedding was coming to a close. It had been perfect, her feet were sore from dancing and her face ached from smiling, these were the marks of joy in her opinion. Before her was Sydin in his Ascended form, his black scales shining in the fading light. He would be flying Sasha and Edling to the town of Rosae for their honeymoon. Rosae was small; the Family House there was nothing like the Palace that she lived in now. She and Edling were looking forward to the slower pace of the town and its quaint atmosphere.
Edling lifted her onto Sydin's back and he took off. The people below cheered and waved to them and Sasha found herself leaning back into Edling's warmth, closing her eyes.
Thank you she thought to Edling. He responded by squeezing her harder.
Sasha was vaguely aware of Sydin's mind, he was connecting with a jump crystal in preparation for the jump to Rosae, and so blissful was she that she didn't even feel the jump. Her lungs filled with the thick sent of Rosae. The town was named aptly, when her eyes opened she was greeted by the sun setting over a valley of vineyards and a town lined with streets of roses of every different kind.
Sydin glided over the town center, none of the buildings being more than two stories tall, as he made his way to the edge of town. Sasha stepped off of Sydin onto the soft lawn at the Family House. She and Edling said their goodbyes to Sydin and he took off to jump back to Seeon.
Sasha and Edling walked hand in hand towards the cottage that was the Family House. Its walls were draped in roses like the rest of the town and they entered the small living room.
"Two bedrooms," she said looking at Edling, "that’s it. That is all this entire house has is just two small bedrooms. No servants, no guests no nothing and it's wonderful!" she gushed, truly relaxing.
"Perhaps someday we can live here," Edling said.
"That would be nice; we could jump to Seeon or the Golden City for my research and then come home here in the quiet."
"It's too bad most Elves wait a century before having their first child, if Legon and Iselin produced an heir now..."
Sasha wrapped her arms around his waist, "Well I think they might. You see my family is mortal, I think Legon wants at least one of his kids to know their adopted grandparents." She ran her fingers through Edling's dark hair, "And with each niece or nephew I get to play with it moves me one step further from being Head of House. Not that it will matter anyway, I suppose."
Edling cocked an eyebrow and Sasha answered his unasked question. "The White Dragon told me that when Legon or I died the other would too, so you see we will never inherit House Evindass, but as time goes on I will have less responsibility."
Edling kissed her. "I forget you aren't used to how things normally are. You and your brother have been busy with a war since you arrived, once the war is over much of life will slow down, the fifteen hour days and weeks that never seem to end will go away. It is not uncommon for Heads of House to take several months off for holiday, indeed this is the norm for our entire race."
"That sounds most welcome. Now enough talking about what will happen years from now and more kissing and enjoying our wedding night," she said pulling Edling in close.
* * * * *
Legon and Iselin walked with Sydin towards the war room in the Palace. Sydin was giving them a report of how House Evindass was fairing in the war effort. The three of them entered the war room where the rest of the Heads of each of the Great Elvin Houses were already sitting. Legon greeted each of them in turn.
"Thank you all for coming not only to this meeting but my sister’s wedding it meant a great deal to her," Legon said.
Each person in the room networked their mind with everyone else, giving Legon as well as every other Head of House a complete view of the war and the Pawdin Empires overall standing. Legon trusted each Head of House completely as did they him; as such the members of the Pawdin government thought as one mind and while in these meetings an overriding consciousness tapped each person’s memory and abilities.
The war was going relatively well; they were taking fewer casualties than expected and taking ground. Their efforts over the years to thin out the Iumenta dragon population had paid off. As a result the Elves were increasingly using Ascended to take out ground and sea units. The Naval battle was all but won, the Cona and Impa fleets were futility trying to keep their northern shores safe but almost all of the waters in the western sea board were under Pawdin control. The fleet was working closely with ground units to bombard and take coastal cities.
The fight on the ground was slowly progressing up the coast and Kayloose River, and thus far there had been no major setbacks. Everyone knew that the war would get harder the closer to Impa lands and the Capital that they got, it was for this reason that Legon wanted to be in the fight. He knew that he was only one Ascended, but he was a class eight which meant something to the people. Legon being in battle would increase morale across all the Elvin and Human forces.
Chapter Fifteen
Ignotis-Aurium
"Once I was asked to view the latest work of a young artist. It was a painting that took a whole wall. He asked me to stand close and look. I looked at it from up close seeing only dots of color. Then I stepped back to see that from a distance the dots made a picture. The piece was speaking to the fact that if we change our perspective of an object we can, in a way, change the object. It wasn't a new style of painting but I found the experience enjoyable none the less."
- Conversations in the Garden
Keither landed hard on his back side.
"Haven't you practiced since we left Manton?" Barnin asked referring to Keither's still inability to fight with a sword.
"If you must know, no I haven't, I've been a bit busy if you haven't heard," he said icily.
They were in Ripensis, a city on the banks of the Kayloose River. Ripensis itself wasn't as large as Salez but it was interconnected with many smaller towns and villages, giving its metropolitan area a sprawling nature. Keither had been in Seeon when the city was taken, so he hadn't seen any of the fighting himself but he knew that both the Elves and Cona forces had taken heavy casualties.
Barnin and his unit were in Ripensis to refit and take on a few replacements.
Barnin continued their conversation. "Yeah, we've all been busy. How was the wedding?" he asked.
Keither sheathed his sword ending their practice, earning a disapproving look from Barnin. "It was amazing to be honest with you, but I don't know. Seeon just didn't feel the way that it used too."
Barnin sat heavily on a chair. "How you mean?"
Keither tried to think of how to describe Seeon's change to him. "It's like the people are always living in a state of fear."
Barnin laughed, "What, like they think they are going to get attacked? Come on Keither, the Elves aren't cowards."
"No, no, not like that. It's hard to describe, it's like people are always waiting to drop dead, which in a way I suppose they are." Barnin gave him a look. "You haven't been there since the war started, but I was talking to Emma and she was telling me that she hates walking the streets now. The Elves die when their spouse dies, so when someone gets killed on the front..."
"You mean their wife or husband just drops dead in the street?" Barnin asked amazed.
Keither nodded. "If your spouse was in the war you not only worry about losing them but also yourself."
"That is creepy, did you see that when you were there?" Barnin asked.
"Yes, once. Sara and I were having breakfast at a cafe and some guy was walking down the street, he dropped something he was holding, it was glass that shattered as he made this horrible pained sound and keeled over," Keither explained.
"What happened then?"
"Nothing really, everyone around him got real quiet and scared looking, and then some Elves picked up his body and took it off somewhere. Things went back to how they had been before th
e man died. Seeon is a tense place to be right now."
* * * * *
Barnin shivered on the inside. He'd always assumed that the Elves had the war pretty easy, well not the units that were on the front, but the people back home in cities like Seeon. Now he was starting to reassess his views. How horrible would it be to go through your day knowing that at any moment you or someone you know could drop dead?
He thought again and asked Keither, "Would that happen with you and Sara? If one of you, ya know, kicked it, would the other one go too?"
Keither shook his head. "Sadly, no. She and I are mentally linked just like the Elves but a connection strong enough to kill takes decades. No, right now if one of us dies the other one will merrily spend the rest of their life looking forward to death. It's so bad for the living person, in fact, that in the Pawdin Empire people generally do not join the military until the connection with their spouse is strong enough to kill."
Barnin was shocked, "They do what? Why would you want the other person to die?"
Keither gave a dark chuckle, "You and Samantha don't share a mental connection so I can see why you're confused. Do you remember Opes? He is one of Legon's guards." Barnin indicated that he remember him. "Well, Opes' wife was killed in the War of Generations; they had only been married for a decade or so. You see back then everyone fought and she died. When she passed so did part of Opes, think of how much you love Sam, and how much that would hurt to lose her."
"I can't even imagine that kind of pain," he said honestly.
"The pain you will feel when she dies is nothing to what Opes felt and with a connection like that not even time heals the wound; you just learn to live with the pain. It's for that reason that I hope, as does Sara, that if one of us is killed, that the other is only moments away," Keither said.
Barnin tried to clear his head. "That's one more reason not to use that freaky mental linking trash." He said, thankful yet again that he didn't go for any of that type of nonsense. "A man’s thoughts are his own, and that's that. Now break’s over, get your sword," he said changing the subject.
* * * * *
Sara spent the bulk of her afternoon organizing supplies. This was the task that felt like it took most of her time, but she was thankful for it. The war was wearing on Sara, it seemed to her as though she couldn't get the blood of the wounded off of her hands and clothes. The sound of grown men crying for their mothers was like a constant echo in her ears, not even sleep brought relief. The only bit of rest she'd had lately was Sasha's wedding, though even in Seeon the war was at their door step.
The army wasn't pushing ahead right now; it was all but stopped, giving time for troops to secure the country side and to build up supply routes before they pushed for Salez. Salez, Sara wondered how she would feel being back in the city. She had no doubt that she would go there, Salez would be a major hub, taking the city was a must. From there all that stood in the way of them and the Capital were some towns and a dragon dome. The latter would not be easy to take. She thought again of Salez, she wondered if any of her old co-slaves were still there, and if so how they were doing? She found it unlikely that any of them had survived since she'd last been with them. Most had probably long since died from diseases that they had caught from horrid clients.
She pushed those thoughts from her mind. Instead she went back to what she was doing. By the time she was done working for the day the sun was setting. The sky was deepest orange from the smoke of fires. Ripensis, while taken, was still putting up a fight. The city with its flowing metro area had many strong holds that were not going quietly into the night. Fires burned licking the skyline with bright orange and yellow, smoke rose like columns over much of the north end of town. Flashes of magic could be seen on the ground and from dragons above the city. Not for the first time Sara asked herself if she would ever see Airmelia whole and complete in her lifetime.
"You are morose today," Keither said from behind her.
She turned to him. "Yes, I suppose I am. I think it was going back to Seeon that did it to me. Before when I was feeling wore out from the war I could think of Seeon and its flowered streets, calm and serene. But now I know that there is no place in the land that is calm or serene.
"I was listening to your conversation with Barnin, the things he has seen in the battle field." She looked at her husband seriously, "Keither we cannot allow our children to grow up in this world. We cannot allow another generation to be laden with the burdens of war and oppression."
"I know, but that's what this is all about isn't it? This war, it’s about making sure that there is a brighter tomorrow."
"But how?" she said her voice cracking. "Barnin told you what he's seen, what humans have done to other humans. And the Iumenta, how many times have the Elves tried to defend us and the Iumenta just come back like some deathly fever? What happens when they cannot defend humanity? What then?" she asked not expecting an answer.
Keither looked down; Sara could sense his thoughts tumbling on themselves before he spoke. "I have gotten to know the Elves rather well over the years and also Legon. The Iumenta have proven that they will always be a threat, I do not think the Pawdin Empire is planning on letting that threat stand any longer."
"What do you mean?" Sara asked.
"Think about it, has the Pawdin Empire faced any real adversary in the Cona lands? Has the Impa Empire unleashed the full force of its power yet? Think love, you watched Legon train in Seeon, saw how hard he worked, his determination to get ready for the front. No, the fight hasn't begun yet, not for the immortals. No, the real war will start at Salez close to the Impa boarder, after months of wearing ourselves down, that is when the Impa Empire will truly start to fight. And after the Cona lands have been retaken I would be very much surprised if the Pawdin Empire didn't continue to push in to Impa land. Sara you know Legon, growing up when he got in a fight did his opponents get back up?"
A chill ran down her spine, she did know Legon; his restraint came from Sasha, without her he was an unstoppable force. After thousands of years of hostility from the Iumenta would Sasha stay her brother’s hand? A voice almost like a whisper in her head said no she wouldn't. Memories of when Sara and Sasha had spoken of the war after Sasha's Ascension assaulted her mind. Sasha was never angry; never felt the need to strike out, but she did now. When Sara thought about it she knew that both Legon and Sasha's anger was kindled against the Impa Empire. No, Sasha would not stay Legon's hand. With her at his side there would be no mercy nor rest for the wicked, not for those that had hurt so many for so long, there would be no prisoners or slowness to action. Once the Heads of House Evindass returned to the Cona Empire they would pour justice out on the land like a dam bursting.
Sara didn't say anything instead she just held Keither's hand, looking out at Ripensis' skyline praying as she had so often for the Everser Vald to come and cleanse Airmelia.
* * * * *
Sasha finished lacing her boots and placed her fenna Indigntio on her belt. She looked at herself in the mirror admiring Indigntio, its cream sheath matched its white handle. Her fingers ran along the handle and its filigree of gold running up it. She would have never admitted it but she always wanted a fenna. She thought they were beautiful; she always liked to look at Legon's fenna Tento. She suspected the reason she found them so appealing was her connection with Legon and his fascination with anything that was a blade, but none the less over the years she had grown attached.
Her eyes moved to her reflection noticing just how different she looked. Gone today was her normal flowing dress, instead she wore dark leather pants and doublet. Her normally long hair was up in a tight bun and her red eyes shone. Today she had to admit that she looked like a warrior, almost frightening. She didn't like it. Sasha was not a warrior, was not violent; just the thought of herself in a fight made her sick to her stomach. She opened her connection with Legon more than it already was and the sick feeling in her vanished.
Edling walked up to her rubbing her shoulders.
"When it comes time for you to really fight you will have the White Dragon's anger, remember?"
Of course she had told Edling about when she met with the White Dragon, how could she not, he needed to know. "I know and for that reason I shouldn't be worried, but it's odd. When I Ascended and Legon and I fought those dragons...it felt like it was me fighting but not really, almost like being in a dream. I felt no aversion in the least bit to killing and in truth I felt no guilt about it either."
"Why would you feel guilty?" Edling asked.
"Do you remember when I told you about when Legon and all of us were making our way to the resistance?" He nodded. "When Kovos was killed we were in a clearing and all of us were fighting. I was in a full Mahann state and obviously thinking with only pure logic, at the time I felt no emotion, no feeling of apprehension to hurting people. I was shooting my bow, and I didn't kill anyone I just injured them. Anyway, at the time I didn't feel bad about what I was doing, but after when I had a chance to think about what had happened, I would feel bad about hurting people, even if they were enemies. It didn't bother me a lot and whenever I'm connected with Legon it doesn't bother me...but when I fought with the White Dragon’s anger I felt no remorse afterwards, none, not a bit."
Edling frowned in thought, "Why do you think that is?"
"It's a perfect anger, I know that sounds odd to say, that anger can be perfect, but his is. It is perfectly just and therefore there is no need for remorse of any kind. Does that make sense?" she asked.
"Yes, being privy to your thoughts as I am it makes perfect sense to me, but what I don't understand is why you are worried now. If his anger is perfect and you will feel that anger only when it is appropriate, shouldn't you be comforted?"
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