She watched as The High Queen took the knife and made a deep cut into the Master's chest, opening it. She watched in disbelief as The High Queen moved her hand into the Master's heart cavity, ignoring the chilling and tortured screams. She felt around for a moment, calling to her the memories of the Dungaras’ villages that were destroyed, while causing unbelievable pain to the Master. After a moment, she placed her other hand against the Master's chest, bracing herself, then slowly, she pulled out the Master's heart. When she was done, she stood holding it in her now bloodied hand, watching it beat the last of its life.
To Ann'wn she said, “Give Me her shirt."
Ann'wn came up to her, holding the shirt out for her. The High Queen placed the heart in the shirt, then called for An'ther'on, “I return your knife to you. Carry this bundle for Me. We will give this to the last survivor, telling them it is for their leader.
An'ther'on had monumental respect for her High Queen, well knowing that even given her own strength and power, The High Queen could yet beat her in combat, “Yes, my Queen. We will leave at your bidding."
Ann'wn made a move to remove the Master from the stake.
The High Queen looked at her, “Leave her for the birds to feast upon."
Ann'wn bowed her head, moving away from the now dead Master.
"Force Leader. It is your moment to lead your forces into battle. Prepare your warriors."
The High Queen's attendants came to her, helping her to wash the blood from her hands and arms. When she was done, she spoke to Ann'wn once again, “Force Leader. Take all our reserves and go toward the southern boundary. Find and destroy two of its small villages, but leave the children and innocents alive. Have a message sent to the Mungardies leader that we spare them their defeat this turn, but that they are to leave the Dungaras in peace from hereon. Leave no dwelling standing and no warrior living. Your warriors may take as they wish, but no innocents are to be killed."
Ann'wn bowed her head, “To your command, High Queen. With your leave, we now depart."
"You have My leave."
Ann'wn turned to leave. The High Queen spoke once again, “Force Leader."
Ann'wn turned, then knelt and bowed her head, “High Queen?"
For the first moment in over two turns, she spoke somewhat kindly to her force leader, “Return to Me, Force Leader. Return safely from this battle."
"As you command, High Queen. It shall be so."
"And have Meera, Erthrn, and My sister go with you."
"Yes, High Queen."
Ann'wn left with great speed, taking the remaining warriors with her. The High Queen looked upon her lover, placing her hand gently on Sle'nel's cheek, “I leave now, My Desire."
"I go with you."
"You should not. Our mission will be most difficult to see."
"I go with you, openly or hidden. It is your choice."
The High Queen looked at her through saddened eyes, “If I were able to command you, I would order you to remain in camp with the healers. But we will ride very quickly, My Desire."
"With all that armor? I will be arrived well prior to you, given all the weight you now carry."
"To our stars, My Desire."
"To our stars, my Queen."
All The High Queen's main forces had been unleashed for a one-turn's revenge. She and Sle'nel’ now rode with her Private Guard, racing at furious speeds to the designated town. Unlike The High Queen's Black Guard, her Private Guard cared nothing about silence, choosing to thunder in upon the enemy, frightening them with their great explosive noise. For long into the early morn, they ran like an ill-wind blowing ferociously across the lands. When they finally saw the town from a distance, An'ther'on halted them for a moment, pointing to their destination, “Leave no survivors. I will select the one. Leave nothing else. When all are dead, set fire upon the town. Take what you wish from them. We go, and we go loudly. We go letting loose The High Queen's great anger and punishment.” She raised her massive sword, “For The High Queen! For The Realm!"
An'ther'on raised her horse onto its hind legs, then rushed off at the greatest of speeds, with all her warriors following closely behind. The High Queen rode next to An'ther'on, while Sle'nel’ followed at a short distance behind the entire group. She readied her bow and arrow as she pushed her own horse forward to that which she now knew would be total slaughter.
She had one quiet wish, If we must kill them, then let us do so quickly, without torture or pain.
The battle scene was nothing Sle'nel’ wished to see, hoping she would never have to see such again. The Mungardies were not taken by surprise, hearing the thundering of the Private Guard well prior to their arrival, but were hardly prepared for anything like The High Queen's Private Guards. The Private Guard were quick in their executions, moving quickly onto the next enemy. They wasted no moments on reflection, no moments on useless movements, and gratefully, no moments on torture. Sle'nel’ knew that if The Private Guard reflected for even a mere moment, they wouldn't be able to do as they did this turn. Every Mungardies in the town was to be killed, except one. And by the end of the late morn, all were dead, except the one. To a one, The Private Guard were awash in blood, looking weary from their loathsome task. When they had searched out all the living from every dwelling and killed them, they then set fire to every dwelling, leaving nothing.
The High Queen had ridden into the town center, dismounting quickly, choosing to fight in hand-to-hand combat against those who had taken up weapons. Throughout all the morn, The High Queen released her rage against the Mungardies’ warriors, drawing forth her memories of what the Mungardies warriors had done to the innocents of The Realm. Sle'nel’ stood on the sidelines, using her bow and arrow only as she felt necessary. At one moment, she saw an injured Mungardies who was suffering from the deep wound. She sent an arrow quickly into her, ending her pain. She turned her back to the killing of the innocents, not understanding why The Realm needed to also do as such. Fortunately, the town was comprised mostly of warriors who were far easier to wage war against than the senseless slaughter of the innocents. She could see no children about the town this turn.
When all was complete, An'ther'on began to take the one left alive to The High Queen. One of the Private Guards heard a noise, “Listen. It is the sound of crying young ones."
The one guard listened, walking to a patch of bushes upon the ground. She knelt down, yet hearing the noise. She brushed some dirt away from the area, then saw a wooden door hidden in the ground. She cleared the trapdoor, and then opened it. Five small Mungardies children were inside. She pulled each of them out, seeing that all of them were well under four cycles. The Mungardies children were crying and scared, holding each other's hands. An'ther'on turned her captive over to another of her own warriors, then went to kill the children, pulling out her sword as she went.
Sle'nel’ cried out, “Halt!"
An'ther'on looked at her, “The High Queen has commanded it be so, Elfin Princess."
Sle'nel’ went and gathered the children to her, quickly trying to create an idea that would be acceptable to these Private Guard and her Queen, “I have a better idea for vengeance against the Mungardies than simply killing their children."
San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ raised an eyebrow only, “I am listening, My Elf."
"We will give them to Yyeoiraa and A'lon'lden to raise."
The High Queen thought on it for a moment, then laughed, thinking it an excellent thought, “Five young Mungardies raised by a Dungaras and a Mystic. We will send this as part of the message. Most excellent, My Desire. A most brilliant idea. The Mungardies would rather have their children dead than raised by such."
An'ther'on couldn't guess as to why there were only five children in this large town, “My Queen. Why do we see only these five children, and no other?"
"The Mungardies send their children of four cycles or more for training. It is their way."
The one Mungardies who An'ther'on had left alive was a young warrior, full o
f hate and loathing toward the women of The Realm. She resisted every movement, until finally The High Queen placed her sword into one of the fires for a moment. When she removed it, it was glowing with red-hot intensity.
"Hold out her sword arm."
An'ther'on and two others held the Mungardies warrior in place, holding her arm straight out. San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ raised her heated sword, bringing it down swiftly, cutting off the arm quickly and cleanly just below the elbow, then held the sword to the open wound for a quick moment. The sword seared the arm closed, preventing the warrior from dying of blood loss, but the pain was immense. The Mungardies screamed and shrieked from the pain, unable to refrain from doing so. An'ther'on kept the Mungardies warrior in a standing position, but the young warrior was screaming and crying so desperately that all could see that she would be useless as a messenger.
The High Queen placed a hand upon the Mungardies’ head for a very brief moment. Suddenly, the Mungardies warrior halted her screaming. San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ had removed a little of her pain, but only out of her need of this one.
"Stand like a warrior, Mungardies."
The young warrior tried, but felt as a child next to The High Queen's Private Guards. Yet, she stood, and that was enough.
An'ther'on stood close to The High Queen with the prepared bundle. The High Queen took it from her, now standing close to the Mungardies warrior, “You have been spared for a reason."
"To kill you the next moment I see you, Realm Scum."
An'ther'on raised her hand to the Mungardies, backhanding a great blow to her face, “Speak with respect, or on the next moment I remove your tongue."
An'ther'on removed one of her knives to prove her point.
The High Queen continued, “Deliver this package to your leader. If you do this not, she will be lacking the information she seeks. Tell her that The High Queen of The Realm delivers her lover back to her. Kill no more Dungaras, or on the next moment, this will be her heart."
The Mungardies warrior took the bundle, opening it slightly with her fingers of her one remaining hand. She gasped as she saw the heart. In disbelief, she asked, “You killed our leader's lover? You killed the Master? And you are High Queen of The Realm?"
The High Queen ignored the questions. Turning to An'ther'on, she said, “Prepare a sling for her so that she can carry it safely."
The Mungardies warrior now knew who she spoke to. She knelt, “High Queen of The Realm. Please allow me to take our children with me."
San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ turned back to her, having no single thought of softening toward this one, “Ah, yes. I forget part of the message. Tell your leader that we have taken five Mungardies children. We will have them raised by ... well, an unusual partnership, and one that she knows of. Tell her that these five Mungardies will be raised by a Dungaras and Mystic pairing, along with their own child."
The Mungardies warrior looked at her in surprise, seeing that pleading was worthless, “You lie. No Dungaras can mate with a Mystic."
San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ raised an eyebrow, “Think what you wish. But I would warn you not to withhold information from your leader, as she knows well of this union. None of us thought prior that such a union could occur, but I have seen the child and know it to be truth."
"You would have the likes of a Dungaras raise five Mungardies children? That is worse than death."
San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ drew her sword, “Hold out her other arm."
The warrior became frightened, “NO! Please, High Queen. NO! I will deliver the message, as you say."
"And tell your leader that I vow for every innocent the Mungardies slaughter, The Realm will now take five Mungardies innocents in return."
* * * *
The High Queen's Private Guard was the first to return to the camp, bringing the five Mungardies children with them. San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ had five of her Private Guard take the children to where they would now be raised, knowing they would get them there safely.
Although their mission was successful, none of them enjoyed the massacre, having done it only to halt more of the same by the Mungardies. The High Queen didn't think the Mungardies would halt their fighting, but hoped that they wouldn't fight against the Dungaras any further. She had called forth her most violent of responses, yet feared it wouldn't suffice.
When they returned to camp, San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ changed back into her other garments, relieved to be rid of this most appalling of warrior duties. She hadn't wanted to kill innocents, but did so to make a point, hoping that the leader of the Mungardies would now refrain from doing so further.
Throughout the remainder of the turn, Sle'nel’ watched for the others to return, as The High Queen stood meditating and reflecting on her decisions. Her arms were slightly out from her side as she stood facing a large mountain. She remained motionless, trying to distance from the voices in her head, from the sounds of death and dying, from the horrors of war, from the sounds of innocents being murdered.
Long prior, when one of her teachers had died in battle, a mournful requiem had been sung for her. It was a haunting melody sung by the most crystal of voices, sung in the Elfin tongue. Since then, whenever San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ was haunted by the voices of death, of torture, of war, she would hear the song come to her, offering its peace. She could now hear the song as if the singer stood next to her, comforting her in the loneliness of being High Queen. And whenever she heard the song, it allowed her the moment to breathe, and to cry silently to herself.
Watching as her lover silently cried inside her meditations, Sle'nel’ wondered if her staff had any spell of relief from such a desperation. She searched through it, asking it if there were a spell to relieve her Queen's suffering. She saw words appear. She read them, seeing that they were written in Elfin, but not in a dialect she knew. Knowing how to say the words, but not knowing their meaning, she decided to trust her Mother's staff. She read them aloud.
As Sle'nel’ spoke the words, the staff sang the song. Softly, the voice sang with haunting crystal-like beauty. Gently, the song sung by the staff replaced the song in San'lr'in'thel'ineln's mind. She opened her eyes, realizing her song was there in the camp, with her. She turned, seeing her Elf reading the spell, but hearing the staff sing the song. She stood motionless, listening, comforted by it. She closed her eyes, allowing the song to remove her from the cares of the living, allowing it to take her into the hands of eternal peace, far away from The Realm. While San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ couldn't understand the words of the song, she knew the message, and she breathed in the peace of eternity.
Of the others left to return, the Black Guard returned first with their captured leaders, a Mungardies High Counselor and the leader of a town.
San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ looked upon the captured women, speaking only to the leader of her Black Guard, “Tie them to stakes."
After the Black Guard returned, San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ said to the leader of the Black Guards, “I have another task for you.” She motioned to the Mungardies’ High Counselor. “Remove this captive's tongue and whichever hand she holds a sword with. Then let her go. She can walk. Give her no horse. When you are done with that, take the other,” she motioned to the Mungardies’ town leader, “and do the same."
"Yes, my Queen."
When it was done, San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ spoke to the Mungardies’ leaders, “Take a message to your leader. All this damage to you and your towns has been done this turn in revenge for your killing of the Dungaras’ innocents. Tell your leader that every innocent you kill from this moment on, we take five of yours. And tell your leader that we have taken five of your children to be raised by the Dungaras."
They were released, well-bloodied and quite disabled, but San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ thought that they would return to their Mungardies leader without further incident.
After their return to the camp, and as the sun began its descent in the sky, San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ returned to the site of D'klr'dil's cavernous hole. She raised her arms, chant
ing her spell, returning D'klr'dil to her. After many moments of waiting, she finally heard D'klr'dil's roar of return. Using more chants, she guided D'klr'dil back into her cavern, praising her for her obedience. When she could see no more of her, she chanted her last spell, closing the great rift, locking the hideous monster back into her underground dwelling. She could only guess as to the damage and terror D'klr'dil had inflicted on the Mungardies, but from the blood upon her mouth and front feet, she guessed it had been considerable.
She had her Private Guard and Black Guard units wait for Ann'wn's return so that they could all listen to the events of the turn. Until then, the success of the campaign was mostly unknown. The Black Guard had sustained only one injury, and her Private Guard had lost one of their own to the battle.
Ann'wn, Erthrn, and their units returned after sun's set. They had lost a few to the battle, but not as many as expected. A great fire was built, and all sat around it. San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ listened as each leader told the story of their campaign. All had been successful, and much chaos and grief were given to the Mungardies for their acts against the Dungaras innocents. The High Queen could tell that it would take the Mungardies many moons to regroup, as she had hoped. All the warriors celebrated this eve, as The High Queen allowed and gave her leave for, but she stood on the sidelines, listening to their merriment, unsatisfied.
They are halted, but only for a short moment. There must be a way toward peace. There must be!
She heard the discordant voices once again in her head. The tortured sounds of life unresolved, leaving The Realm shrouded in dissonance.
Chapter VIII
The Horizon
After the celebration, the warriors went to their rest while San'lr'in'thel'ineln’ remained sitting near the fire, watching as it burned. She was exhausted but needed the quiet moment to think over the past few turns and her decisions, as well as think on what now faced The Realm. She had learned long prior that while her Counselors were well committed to The Realm, they were not farsighted or imaginative enough in their thinking to rely on overly.
The Realm's Mystics [Mystic Women of The Realm Series Book 3] Page 44