A Warrior's Penance

by Davis Ashura

  Jessira's decision firmed. In all the other instances she had heard this strange voice, he had always provided wisdom. He had always spoken true.

  Jessira would do this to save the people she loved, save Rukh, save Ashoka, save even the poor, deluded Chimeras. All of them deserved a chance to live free of the Sorrow Bringer's evil. She lifted the Knife to her chest and breathed a swift prayer to Devesh, seeking His protection and guidance and forgiveness.

  She turned to Dar'El. “The Knife is the key,” she said. “It's how Rukh became like Suwraith. But you can only do it if you have nothing in your heart but a desire to serve and sacrifice.”

  Dar'El shot her a confused stare, but Jessira had no more time for talk. Rukh had taken another series of blows.

  Thunder split the skies as Jessira plunged the Knife into her heart.

  Pain, like nothing she had ever known, took her.

  If Rukh still had a body, he would have been panting in exhaustion by now. He would have been hobbling about, bruised from all the punishing blows the Sorrow Bringer had delivered. Though his Jivatma still coursed potently, he was simply taking too much punishment too frequently to give himself time to Heal. New damage occurred before he could care for the old. With a sickening awareness, Rukh knew there would come a point when he would break. Unless something drastic changed, he was doomed.

  He even tried to flee the battle, but the Queen was too swift. Every time he tried to retreat, She cut him off.

  The worst aspect of his looming defeat and death—the knowledge that made him want to cry out in frustration—was that Rukh finally knew how to fight the Queen. She was fast, but he had Her timing down. She was powerful, but She lacked his precision. She was skilled, but there were stances and movements when Her thrusts and strokes became predictable.

  If Rukh only had a few minutes to Heal rather than the paltry few seconds he had been granted so far, he would be refreshed and ready. He would be able to take advantage of his understandings of Suwraith's fighting style. He would finally be able to take the fight to the Sorrow Bringer. Just a little time, and he could take Her.

  Rukh snarled.

  Then he'd earn that time.

  He held tight to his will and poured all his energy into speed and defense. For a time it worked. He parried and blocked. He gave ground. He flew above Suwraith. He flew below Her. All his effort was given over to avoiding Her golden staff. He was able to hold off the Queen, prevent any further injuries, and slowly, he Healed.

  Then She launched a seemingly lazy thrust at his midsection, which he easily parried. She slipped to his right. Her staff dipped to the side of his sword, and She swung it up. Rukh never saw it coming until it slammed into his jaw. His head snapped back. He took two more blows before finally gaining space to disengage.

  All his Healing was undone.

  Suwraith gave him a chilling smile. “Now comes your end.”

  Whatever else She might have said was lost in the flood of Jessira's pain. Something horrific was happening to her. Agony flooded through her, threatening to tear her apart. She burned as if she'd been dipped in molten rock. Her essence was being torn apart, frayed and ripped into ever smaller pieces.

  Rukh's figurative heart clenched. The Withering Knife. Jessira must have stabbed herself in the heart with it. It was the only explanation that could account for the terrible pain she was experiencing.

  Suwraith hissed. She might have sensed what was happening to Jessira as well. “Whoever has sheathed the Knife in their flesh won't survive the purification,” She declared.

  “She will survive,” Rukh said, more to keep the Queen talking than for any other reason. The longer the Sorrow Bringer let him rest, the more chance he could recover from his latest injuries.

  “Only those with the worthiest of hearts can enact the change. You were an aberration, but there won't be two in one day,” the Queen sneered. “And if this woman does survive the purifying fire, still, she will die. I will make certain of it.”

  “It is You who will die,” Rukh vowed.

  Even as he said the words, he knew they sounded asinine. They didn't sound defiant or heroic, but he also didn't care. He would say whatever it took to keep Suwraith distracted. He only needed to stay alive a few moments more. Help was coming. Jessira was coming. She would survive the trial with the Withering Knife, and she would be here. He knew it. He had faith.

  “I think not,” the Sorrow Bringer laughed. “The woman who sheathed the Knife won't save you. No one will. She will be another I cast down. You'll live to see her dead. This, I promise.” The Queen surged toward him.

  But Rukh was ready. Only a few seconds had passed, but it had been enough time for him to somewhat recover.

  The Queen attacked, and Rukh's silver sword whistled through the air like a shrieking hawk. He blocked Her strike. A sound like rocks cracking shook Ashoka. Another swing, and Rukh deflected. A tolling echo boomed across the heavens. Rukh stepped back, moving out of range. He rose above the Queen and She followed. He darted down and to the left before moving laterally to the right. She overswept him and had to spin around to keep him in sight. Rukh refused to engage, and this time Suwraith was unable to force the issue.

  He had to stay away from the Queen and give Jessira time to complete her transformation. Even now, her pain was slowly fading, and for a time, Rukh couldn't sense her presence. But he held tight to his trust. She would survive.

  Eventually, he again became aware of Jessira's essence. She had done it! She had survived the purification.

  The Queen bellowed in rage.

  This time, he could sense so much more from Jessira than he ever had when they had worn flesh. A luminescent cloud of glowing green motes ascended to the heavens and settled next to Rukh. They coalesced into the shape of a woman that wore Jessira's heart-shaped features.

  She smiled at him. “You look like you could use some help.”

  “You have no idea,” Rukh said with a laugh. Barely understanding what he was doing or how he was doing it, he passed Linder's knowledge to her.

  Jessira nodded in appreciation. “Thank you,” she said. “Let's get to work.” A blue sword extended from her hands, and she turned to the Sorrow Bringer. “My Queen, I believe You have a date with Death.”

  The Sorrow Bringer still towered over both of them. She was a giant, and they were but children in Her presence. But still, She appeared nervous. Suwraith slowly readied Her staff even as She warily eyed them. A moment later, She turned and fled.

  Jaresh gaped in awe. He couldn't believe what had just happened. A battle had taken place in the skies above Ashoka, and it had been a battle unlike anything he had ever seen or read about. Thunder had boomed loud enough to tumble buildings, white-hot Fireballs had burned the very air, and lightning had lit the smoke-filled sky, whining like a horde of locusts.

  Rukh had become something extraordinary. He had become . . . Jaresh wasn't sure what exactly, but his brother was now like Suwraith, an ethereal being of spirit and might. And while the Queen was old in Her power and had greatly overmatched Jaresh's brother, nevertheless, Rukh had never retreated—he was an Ashokan warrior, a Kumma who understood his duty. But there had come a moment when he had looked moments away from defeat. The hammer strikes heavy enough to level a mountain, the blows from the Sorrow Bringer's golden staff that smacked hard enough to splinter glaciers—they had taken their toll.

  But then Jessira had risen up. She had transformed in the same manner as Rukh. Together they'd faced down the Sorrow Bringer, and it had been the Queen who had fled the battle.

  “We must rally our warriors before the Chimeras reorganize!” Dar'El shouted, breaking Jaresh out of his amazed reverie.

  *The Nobeasts are already fleeing in all directions,* Thrum said.

  *Are there any Human warriors about?* Jaresh asked.

  Shon raised his nose to the air. *There is a large group of a hundred or so just down the hill,* he said. *There are more of them scattered throughout this area.*
He turned to Jaresh, his head tilted to the side. *What happened to Jessira?* he asked. *Do Humans ordinarily become like the Demon Wind when faced with danger?*

  Aia batted him on the nose. *Foolish kitten,* she chided, fondness taking the sting from her gesture. *Our Humans are not ordinary. They are extraordinary.*

  Jaresh set aside their discussion and turned to Nanna. He passed on Thrum and Shon's information.

  Nanna nodded. “Good. We'll meet with up with those warriors down below and organize them. Suwraith's creatures no longer have the Queen to defend them from our attacks. If we can rally our forces quickly enough, we can crush the Chimeras before they have a chance to flee the city.”

  His gaze fell to Sign, who was slumped on the ground. Her wounds had been attended to, and while Jaresh had done his best to Heal her injuries, he'd never been very good at that particular Talent. As a result, they'd taken the expedient of placing heavy bandages over her wounds.

  “She should stay here,” Amma said. “So should Li-Choke and his Chimeras. They're likely to be attacked if they're seen out on the streets, even if you and Jaresh accompany them.”

  “We'll also leave Aia and Shon,” Jaresh said. “I want to make sure you're protected in case the Chimeras come back.”

  Jaresh's gaze fell upon Rector's corpse, and a wellspring of grief rose up. Rector and Jaresh hadn't always gotten along, but in the end, he had come to respect the older man's integrity and honesty. In the end, Rector had been a friend, one who had given his life so Jaresh and his family might live. Without his presence here on this day, maybe Rukh and Jessira wouldn't have had the opportunity to do what they had. Without Rector, maybe they all would have been overrun by the tide of Chimeras that had come against the Shektan House Seat. For that reason and so many more, the man deserved to be remembered and his actions celebrated.

  “We'll make sure his body is returned to his family,” Amma said.

  Several days later, a crowd of warriors gathered under a blood red sky. Included with them was a tired and grimy Jaresh. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder alongside the others. They were silent, wary, and watchful as they held the width of Holt Try near Trell Rue in preparation for the final hard push to reclaim the city.

  After Nanna had brought order to random, wandering warriors, the broken Ashokan Army had swiftly reorganized. At that point, Marshall Tanhue and his intact brigade had linked up with them. From then on, more and more warriors had gathered, and the Ashokan Army had regrouped. Quickly, running battles had broken out throughout the streets of the city.

  The Chimeras had the numbers, but the Ashokans had the will, the hunger, and the skill. They had seen Rukh and Jessira put Suwraith to flight, a scene of salvation that raised the possibility that the Sorrow Bringer's reign of evil might finally come to an end. The Chimeras had also seen that same battle, but for them, Suwraith's defeat had been a disaster. As a result, while the Queen's creatures still fought, they fought with the half-hearted motions of the broken-willed. The Ashokans, on the other hand, fought with the ferocity of the righteous.

  It was ironic. On the day when Ashoka had been invaded by over a Plague of Chimeras—over three hundred thousand of the Fan Lor Kum—a miracle had occurred, transforming the disastrous to the euphoric. The Sorrow Bringer had been defeated and Her creatures decimated, destroyed, and whittled down to less than a quarter of their original number. A terrible morning had yielded a dawn of hope for all Arisa.

  And now, two days after that momentous event, gathered in Trell Rue was the final large grouping of Chimeras. It was three Shatters, a little over forty-five thousand. This would be the final reckoning, and afterward, Ashoka—though still aflame—would be reclaimed. The Rahails had already expanded the Oasis back to the Inner Wall, and in another few weeks, they might be able to push it all the way back to the Outer Wall.

  Jaresh considered all this as he studied the Chimeras gathered in the distance. Among them strode the Baels, easily differentiated by their height and wide horns. Their whips glowed and their tridents pointed out directions as they barked commands. Somehow, the horned commanders had reestablished control here. In all the other parts of the city, the Chimeras had simply run amok, screaming like rabid dogs until they'd been put down.

  There was a stirring amongst the Chimeras, and ten Baels stepped forward from their ranks. They were distinguished by the plethora of feathers dangling from their horns. They had to be senior members of the Plague. In addition, one of them was red-feathered, the SarpanKum. He continued onward while the others waited closer to the lines of their Chimeras.

  When the SarpanKum was little more than a bow shot away, he called out. “We surrender,” he said in a booming voice. “We will put down our weapons. We won't fight you. We only ask that you let us live until the Queen's final reckoning is determined.”

  Standing nearby to Jaresh was Marshall Tanhue. He gathered with his officers. One of them gestured for Jaresh to attend them.

  Jaresh frowned, not sure why he was being asked to join the High Command.

  “You know Rukh and Jessira better than anyone,” Marshall Tanhue said. “Can they defeat the Sorrow Bringer?”

  “I think they already have,” he said. “Before She fled, I could tell that Rukh had Her timing. He was figuring out Her rhythms.”

  “Then where are they?” growled an older officer. “Why haven't we heard word from them yet if they were victorious?”

  Jaresh shrugged again. “I don't know,” he said tamping down his worry. “But even if he couldn't defeat Suwraith on his own, with Jessira's help, I'm sure he—or rather they—could.”

  The Marshall stared off at the remnant of the Eastern Plague through assessing eyes. “We've lost enough warriors these past few days,” he finally decided. “And it would be good to lose no one else.” His jaw briefly clenched. “We'll accept the Chimeras' surrender, and figure out what to do with them later. For now, we need to take care of our wounded, get these fires under control, and pray that Rukh and Jessira won against the Queen.”

  Jaresh knew that it went without saying that if the Sorrow Bringer was the one who returned to Ashoka, those same Chimeras would immediately be put to the knife.

  Lienna's confidence was broken. She who had been the death of an entire world. She who was singular and omnipotent. She who had never tasted defeat in all Her long life had been challenged, and for the first time in two millennia, Her might had been found wanting. For the first time in two millennia, Lienna had been forced to flee a battle. For the first time in two millennia, a new Elemental had been birthed, and while he'd proven to be a worthy foe, Lienna had been well on Her way to destroying him. But then had come another Elemental, a woman.

  Two beings in one day had become as Lienna. It shouldn't have been possible. Mistress Arisa had promised that only She would—

  Lienna halted Her thoughts. Mistress Arisa wasn't real. She had never been real. Mistress Arisa was merely a product of Lienna's delusions, a figment of Her fevered imagination.

  “Am I also a delusion then?” Mother asked.

  “You are real enough,” Lienna growled. “Just as these new Elementals are also real. But I will destroy them, just as I did You. I will kill them just as I have all the others who dared oppose My immortal will.” Lienna spoke the words with as much confidence as She could muster. She tried to reclaim the focus and self-certainty, the belief that She could carry the day no matter how severe the odds.

  “Since You discarded Your flesh, there have been none who could truly be said to have contended with You, Daughter,” Mother said with a chuckle. “And as for immortal . . . I think that on this day, You will learn otherwise.”

  “I am immortal,” Lienna insisted.

  “You lie to Yourself,” Mother said, “but You can no longer lie to Me.”

  Lienna tried to ignore Mother's words. They weren't true. They couldn't be true. “Where's Father?” She demanded. He usually had some pithy advice She might be able to use.

  “With De
vesh,” Mother replied. “He ascended today, and if You're truly lucky, You may one day be fortunate enough to join Him.” Mother seemed to shake Her head. “However, I fear the circle of birth will spit You out well down the Line of Life before You can again wear a Human's raiment.”

  Lienna growled. Those weren't the words She needed to hear. She needed . . .

  An idea came to Her. Mistress Arisa. She needed Mistress. After all, every disaster that had occurred in the past few years had been when Lienna had sought to banish Mistress Arisa's presence from Her mind. What if it had been a colossal mistake to do so? What if Mistress Arisa had been the reason for all of Lienna's success? Her victories? Her power?

  “Mistress?” Lienna ventured.

  “What is it Child?” Mistress Arisa asked.

  Lienna shivered in relief. Mistress hadn't abandoned Her. “I seek Your wisdom. Two Elementals challenge Our might. How should I destroy them?”

  Mistress Arisa laughed in scorn. “I have no advice to give. Your feeble mind couldn't grasp what is required for victory.”

  Lienna gaped. There had to be something Mistress Arisa could tell Her. “This can't be the end. I am Your chosen vessel, the one who will usher a new age to Your lovely world. Surely You have some words to aid Me in My hour of need.”

  Mistress Arisa didn't respond.

  “Your ending is coming,” Mother said. “You know it. I warned You. With fire and vengeance You murdered Your way across the world, and with fire and vengeance, You will be cast out from the world.”

  Lienna had to put aside further conversation. While She had been busy trying to understand the disaster that had occurred in the skies above Ashoka, while She had been talking to Mother and begging advice from Mistress Arisa, the two new Elementals had chased Her down and overtaken Her.

  Their swords were ready, and Lienna was forced to halt Her flight and coalesce into the shape of a woman once more. She prepared Her staff and distantly noted a nearby convoy of ships down below on the Sickle Sea. All of them had the protective shell of an Oasis, and Lienna made a mental note to destroy those ships after She defeated these two Elementals coming for Her.