The Rise of Nazil- Complete Epic Fantasy Trilogy

by Aaron-Michael Hall

  “Wosen? What’re you doing?”

  “There’s something out there,” he whispered, glancing around. “The darkness is shielding it, but it’s there.”

  She moved the protective arm that blocked her, walking out of the cave. “Yes, the Dessalonians are returning from their watch. You’re hearing the Desu Beasts’ wings. Come, they’ll be hungry,” she said, grabbing a torch.

  He glanced around again, quickly trailing behind her. She led him to a smaller cave just beyond the fire, and he wondered how he’d missed it before. As soon as the torch illuminated the cave, his eyes widened. Everywhere he looked, huge cuts of meat were suspended.

  “Remove these from the hooks and put them in the cart,” she said, securing the torch in its holder. “I’m going to get the hearts.”

  “The—the hearts?”

  “You heard me.”

  Wosen struggled to fill the cart, still weakened from his escape. Once he stacked the last, Thalassa returned with a full basket of cold, darkened animal hearts. He almost retched.

  “What’s wrong, son of Hosdaq? You don’t have the stomach to feed the beasts who serve you?” She winked.

  “Beaz Gon’neesa.” [19] Arinak said.

  “They’re here.”

  Wosen grabbed the cart, following behind Thalassa. One by one, the majestic beasts descended, their wings sending gusts of air around them. Wosen shielded his eyes, marveling at the violet hues illuminating the dark sky. When Arinak removed his helm, the glow dissipated, and his eyes appeared completely black, before shifting to their original purple and gold coloring. When he regarded Thalassa, she smiled.

  “This is how they see through the darkness,” she responded to his unspoken question. “The connection between the Dessalonians and their beasts. It’s not their eyes that provide the sight, Wosen, it’s the eyes of the Desu Beasts. The sight that their third eye provides is beyond our comprehension, and is symbiotic with their masters. Come.”

  “Your meals are awaiting you, AvHotther ,” [20] Thalassa said.

  “Be’tam amelyko, pahn’taal m’eloahnte ,” [21] he responded, walking to the cave.

  AvHotther? Arinak is her father? Wosen thought, unable to break his stare. Even with their massive size, their movements appeared almost light, although the vibrating ground spoke to the obvious weight of the men.

  Thalassa approached a Desu Beast, raising a heart into the air. Wosen’s head cocked, hearing a sound akin to a purr as it leaned down, taking it from her hand.

  Lifting a heart from the basket, Wosen cautiously approached one of the beasts. Unlike Thalassa, his hands shook terribly, unsure of what to do or how he’d be perceived. When he drew nearer, his confidence waned. Its expansive wings unfurled as it stood to its full imposing height. Wosen sucked in his breath, taking in the full measure of the creature: the spiked projectiles on its sides and crown, its massive maw lined with razor-sharp teeth, and the thick-corded muscles in its legs and tail. He backed away, both admiring and fearing the creature.

  “Wait,” Thalassa said. “Only approach them from the front. They need to wholly see you, Wosen, not merely sense your presence. Stay clear of their tails,” she warned, pointing. “Do you see the barbed end? Poison excretes from there. Once struck by this, no herbs in all the lands could heal you.”

  Wosen backed up, swallowing hard. After a deep, steadying breath, he met the beast’s eyes, lifting the heart into the air. When it snarled, flattening its ears, he nearly moved away. The beast’s snout scrunched, baring teeth longer than his forearm. The slaver oozing from them trickled over his hand, saturating his glove. Once its mouth opened, Wosen instinctively closed his eyes, but a smile soon followed, feeling a soft, warm tongue, licking the remains from his hand.

  Thalassa patted the beast’s side and said, “She likes you.”

  “She?”

  “Yes, that one is Jzardis, and this is Xandi. She belongs to Arinak. All the Desu Beasts are female, Wosen. Couldn’t you tell?” Thalassa smiled, flipping her long braid to her back. “Now, leave them to eat while we join the others. They’ll have a report from the lands.”

  Wosen pushed the cart forward, rushing to follow behind her. When they entered the cave, the Dessalonians were finishing their meal.

  “Did you see anything, AvHotther ?” Thalassa asked, sitting beside them.

  His chains rattled, nodding his head. “Faélondul burns. The Nazilians have waged a war against the humans.”

  “All the lands, AvHotther ?”

  “They’ve grown bold, these ghosts,” Sarroh said. “We’ve seen some approaching the Animus Wood.”

  “The wood? I thought they feared it. Why would they go there now?”

  “They follow Bandari, m’eloahnte ,” Arinak said, glaring at Wosen.

  “What? They’re following my people?”

  “Be still.” Arinak’s voice boomed. “The Bandarians have crossed into the wood. They haven’t reached the Guardian, but Tesu will lead them safely.”

  Wosen’s brow creased. “Who is Tesu?”

  “He’s the messenger, yet appearing merely shadow,” Thalassa said. “Your people have found favor with the Guardians, Wosen. If Tesu guides them, the Guardians will keep them safe.”

  “Are you certain? Have you ever seen this Tesu?”

  “Tesu led me here…my brother and me.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Yes. We arrived here together, but I haven’t seen him in years. I’ve been here since I was a young child. The Dessalonians are my family. If not for Tesu, we would’ve been lost.”

  “It was a blessing, but the circumstances are different for my people and the others,” Wosen said, standing and facing Arinak. “Are you going to the Animus Wood?”

  “All of Faélondul burns, yet you care only for your people.”

  “I’m concerned about all of the people,” Wosen said. “I was a captive in Nazil and know the depravity they’re capable of. Draizeyn didn’t stop with Bandari: my village was only the beginning. You saw for yourself the havoc they’re wreaking throughout the lands. Aren’t you protectors of the people, too?” Wosen asked, not awaiting an answer. “There aren’t any greater beings than you, save the Guardians themselves. Please. I’m a survivor of Nazil’s sadistic cruelties. Such evil can’t be permitted to cover the lands.”

  “The Guardians protect the lands, man of Bandari. It was our onus to protect the Guardians,” Baldon barked.

  “Don’t you understand that the people need you? I need you. The humans can’t defeat a force like Nazil, not alone. They’ll always have the advantage because they don’t see us as equals. We’re nothing to them, and our pain is their strength. Our pain and suffering doesn’t matter to them because we don’t matter. Even their animals are slaughtered with mercy, but not us. We’re insults to all that they are, without feelings or worth. How many must die or be captured before you understand your importance…your greatness?” Wosen said, looking at each.

  “What I suffered in their hands was worse than death. I prayed to all the gods and Guardians to release me from my pain and torment, to allow my death. But each time I awoke, it was in agony. That agony brought joy to those who inflicted it. They laughed and jested as they tortured me, peeling flesh from my bones as I cried out for mercy.” Wosen stood, tossing his furs aside, and raised up his tunic, revealing the healed cuts, burns, and deep scars beneath. Nearly every inch of his body showed evidence of his abuse. Thalassa cringed, gasping and turning away.

  “This is what Nazil did to me. They wrenched teeth from my mouth, cut me, burned me, beat me, flayed my skin from the bone, and some things, the worst of it, I dare not speak, but can never forget.” He forced back his emotion, pulling down his tunic. “This is what awaits the people of these lands, Arinak. Not only the wounds you see on my body, but what they’ve done to my heart, my soul, and my mind. You remain here in your mountains far removed from these horrors. You fly over the lands in darkness, inspecting all beneath you. But the co
nnection to the people has been lost. Don’t you protect us as well? Don’t our lives have worth to you? Please, I beg of you, return to the wood, join with those who gave you life, those which you long for. They haven’t left you, Arinak, they’re with you even now.”

  “His words are true, and we spoke of the same not long ago,” Brukin said, resting a hand on Arinak’s shoulder. “Our protection has always extended beyond the Animus Wood. We’ve remained and kept watch over these lands, yet we do nothing to protect them. Had the Guardians wished it, we would’ve diminished long ago. Tesu did lead Thalassa and Crissu to Dessalonia…to us. There’s always a purpose, and it’s time that we return and complete that which we were created to do.”

  “Our sins were great!” Arinak retorted.

  “They were,” Thalassa said. “But the Guardians are much greater than your sin. They’ve already forgiven you, AvHotther . It’s time that you forgave yourselves.”

  She walked over, putting her tiny hand in his. When he met her eyes, the little girl that she once was appeared to stare back at him.

  “Return to the wood and humble yourself before them,” she continued. “If Faélondul truly burns, the people need you, just as Crissu and I did. As I still do. This is a prison maintained only by the captives, and you need to leave your confinement. Through you, I’ve learned about the Guardians and their greatness. You are their children, AvHotther, they’ll welcome you home as you welcomed me.” She reached up, and he lifted her onto his lap. After clasping the three chains on his face, she drew him down, kissing his cheek. “She has forgiven you, too, AvHotther . The love you share is eternal. You’re not merely castigating yourself, you’re castigating her as well.”

  “I’ll return with you and offer whatever assistance that I can,” Wosen said. “I understand much about sins and sinners: no one is free of transgression…myself most of all. But we couldn’t subsist if we carried that weight with us. Even for those who have no belief, there must be a means for expiation,” Wosen said, looking at each of them.

  “You’ve dwelled amongst the divine. For you, there’s never been any doubt of their existence, not like for me. Why would you turn from them now? You were there in the beginning, Arinak, and know of their forgiveness and love. If they offer this to all of us, to me, why wouldn’t they do the same for their children?

  “It’s not only for my people that I ask this. I’m pleading for the whole of Faélondul, and you, most of all. My faith in the Guardians is all that sustains me now, just as my faith in you.”

  Arinak’s head lowered, feeling Thalassa grip his finger. “I’d ask of your minds,” he said.

  The Dessalonians exchanged glances and then nodded to their leader.

  “K’aun ein’ zan’ner ,” Baldon said. “R’aymed Guardians k’naan .” [22]

  Life, Death, and Pain

  “He’s beautiful, Brahanu, they both are,” Pentanimir said. His emotion nearly overwhelmed him, cradling Tardison for the first time. For those brief moments, he wanted to remove the thoughts of war from his mind. He’d soon need to disclose the horrors he’d witnessed, but in this moment, he enjoyed the love that surrounded him and the blessing of not only his son, but Itai’s son, too.

  He observed Brahanu holding Eytan to her breast. When he looked at the small babe, he could only see Itai. Pentanimir struggled with the love he held for Brahanu then. It was his selfishness that had caused Itai’s death. Although he knew it wasn’t so, his guilt wouldn’t allow him to believe otherwise.

  “Brahanu. Eytan. Protect—” repeated in his mind accompanied by his last image of Itai. He nearly succumbed in that instant, lowering his head to shield the anguish consuming him.

  “Pentanimir, can you hold Eytan while I feed Tardison?”

  After several deep breaths, he stifled his emotion, forcing a smile. He handed Tardison to his mother, caressing the patch of silvery-white hair atop his head. Once he’d nestled Eytan in his arms, he fought against his surging emotions. “He has his father’s face,” he thought, trying not to notice.

  Pentanimir lifted Eytan to his shoulder, gently patting his back. He rocked him soothingly, holding him close as his father certainly would’ve.

  “I’ll take him, Pentanimir,” Julaybeim said. “Ameya is sleeping in the carriage and I’m certain you’d like to do the same.”

  Pentanimir nodded, seeing only Hacom’s face staring back at him. “How am I to tell them?” Wordlessly, he handed Eytan to his uncle, and joined Danimore near the fire.

  “Everything is nearly packed,” Danimore said. “You should get some rest before we have to leave.”

  “Yes…yes, I’m tired,” Pentanimir said, absently.

  Danimore looked at him, noting the distance in his eyes. Pentanimir hadn’t given them a full report on Cazaal, and he didn’t know how or if he should ask about it.

  Julaybeim took the opportunity with Brahanu to question her of the same.

  “Sister, did Pentanimir mention anything about the battle?”

  “Only what he’d told everyone. The battle still raged when he saved Ameya, and I’ll be forever grateful. All we know is that the Nazilians set our village ablaze.”

  “That’s the way of caitiffs. They can’t meet us in battle openly. Only through treachery and subterfuge can they gain ground against us.”

  “That’s not true of all Nazilians, Julaybeim. Ameya wouldn’t be here with us if it were. I just wish that we knew that Mother, Father, and Itai were well. That plagues my heart most of all.”

  “Mother wouldn’t be moved when I asked her to come with us. I pray that the gods protect them and return us safely.”

  Brahanu nodded, noticing Pentanimir and Danimore speaking near the carriage. “I wonder what he’s saying to him that we can’t all hear?”

  Julaybeim glanced over his shoulder. “I wonder the same.”

  “Pentanimir, please, your visage and mood betray you. Please, tell me what happened,” Danimore urged a second time.

  Pentanimir met his eyes with silence. The sounds, visions, and smells of the battle erupted through his heart and mind as if he were still standing amidst the turmoil. He had yet to work through the actualities of what took place and what they meant for each of them. Too many faces and debilitating truths: Manifir, Oxilon, Temian, Hushar, Hacom, Amani, Itai. All of them cascaded through his mind, screaming at him, reaching for him, crushing him. Not even the joy of seeing his son could replace the anguish he felt.

  “Brother.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “They’ve all fallen.”

  “All? What do you mean, Pentanimir? Who’s fallen?”

  “Don’t you understand? All of them, Hacom, Amani, Itai, and Uncle. They were all lost in the battle. How am I supposed to tell them? I have no way to offer such news.”

  Danimore’s face paled. He gripped Pentanimir in a tight embrace, feeling his body weaken against him.

  “I’ve failed them,” Pentanimir said. “I was supposed to protect them, and I failed.”

  “No, you didn’t fail,” he said, holding him out at arm’s length. “You warned them, fought with them, and saved Ameya. You couldn’t have done any more, Pentanimir. If not for you, none of us would be safe. This was your purpose. Don’t you recall the words of your Elder? Your son and Brahanu are safe due to your efforts. You’ve protected Itai’s son as well. He died defending his home, his wife, and his village, but you remain. You’ll continue to protect Eytan and raise him to know about his father’s honor and sacrifice.”

  Pentanimir shook his head. “If I hadn’t fallen in love with Brahanu, he’d still have his father.”

  “That’s not true, Brother. Your grief is too near for you to think clearly. It wasn’t your love that caused his death. That was by Draizeyn’s order alone. Don’t allow your grief to confuse your mind and heart.”

  “She did love him, Dani. Brahanu was torn between us, and I took advantage of that. Even as she protested, I wouldn’t remove my lips from hers. In the beginning, she initi
ated our closeness, but it was me in the end. Now, her husband is gone.” He clenched his eyes, before meeting Danimore’s again. “Both Itai and Hacom died by Uncle’s hand.”

  “Oxilon?”

  “I witnessed their deaths and could do nothing to prevent them. Then, Amani and Ameya’s screams drew my focus. I’ve never seen such savagery, Dani, never. I thank the gods that Ameya was shielded from it…they raped her mother mercilessly.” He took a deep breath, attempting to keep the quiver from his voice. “I—I killed Amani. I couldn’t save her, but I wouldn’t leave her to their brutalities. She wouldn’t have survived it.”

  Danimore blinked back his forming tears, grasping his brother’s arms. Pentanimir had always been the stronger of the two, and now, he needed comfort.

  “They would’ve continued to use her until every hole was violated and torn to shreds. Then, they would’ve tortured her slowly, not allowing her death until they had their fill. If she were taken back to Nazil, you know what she had yet to suffer,” Danimore said. “What you did was a kindness, Pentanimir. You knew so then, and must remember that now. You saved her from the cruelties that we know too well.”

  “So, I’m like our father…I kill to prevent suffering.”

  “Father?”

  “Isn’t that what he did to Crissu? To our brother? He killed him quickly so that he couldn’t be tortured. I’d believed that Father murdered his son to protect himself, but I understand differently now. The pain of killing our brother weighed too heavily upon him, Dani. I know, because the weight I feel now is crushing me.”

  “You won’t carry it alone. Both of us will shoulder this burden. You can’t tell anyone else about what happened. Brahanu and Julaybeim could never understand like we do. Tell them only about Itai and Hacom’s bravery and honor defending the village. Never speak of Amani. Never. Promise me, Pentanimir.”

  He nodded. “You have the right of it.”