by D N Meinster
Kytheras was in a poor state, and the people who were supposed to save it were not doing much better. Years of preparation and training did not dull the anxiety of a new war or the fear of the demigod on the other side of the Unending Seas. They all heard what had happened to their former home. They all knew what they were going up against.
Instead of trying to restore order, Amelia simply looked around before fading from the room. Grace shifted moments later, and Azzer followed.
Calm waves replaced the petulant voices as they swapped candlelight for starlight.
"They're not ready," Amelia lamented as she stared out into the dark sea. "If we wait much longer, Neanthal will depart along with most of Kytheras."
"There's always that other plan," Grace reminded her.
"It will not work," Amelia replied.
Azzer unintentionally snuck up on the pair as he approached. "What other plan?"
"Eavesdropping?" Grace asked. "You prick."
"I do miss your swearing," Azzer replied. "We get to hear so little of it nowadays."
"I've got more for you," Grace warned.
Azzer gazed at Amelia. "Am I being kept out of the loop?"
"You gave up scouting the mainland so you could spend more time flirting with guys on the beach," Grace responded. "Why would we keep someone like that in the loop?"
"There was only so much I could take," Azzer said. "While all of us stay here and do nothing."
"We plan to fill everyone in," Amelia finally spoke. "We were going to do so today, if the meeting hadn't deteriorated."
Azzer wasn't reassured that he’d been lumped in with everyone else. "You trusted me to go over there. What changed? Is Grace right?"
"You haven't shown much interest," Amelia replied. "This is the first time you've asked."
She was right about that. But Azzer needed a break after all he'd seen in Kytheras. He had stood by watching as daily massacres took place and more were forced into bondage. They may have thought of him as a cold-hearted Bellish, but these events affected him. Pila seemed to be coping much better.
"And you didn't need any more burdens," Amelia continued. "There are enough mages that we can let one spend some time on the beach, especially one that's done as much as you."
Azzer felt like he'd let them down, but all he'd been doing was trying to recoup. Amelia appeared to understand, but why did he feel so guilty about it? "I spent too much time on the beach. I'm ready to return and take on new responsibilities."
"I've been waiting for you to say that," Amelia said. "But what I intend for you to do may be more demanding than anything I have ever asked of a mage."
Azzer bit his bottom lip but told her he was up for it.
Amelia placed a hand on his shoulder. "There is much we have to accomplish, first."
"Are we going to clue him in, now?" Grace asked.
Azzer gazed at Grace. He'd never gotten a reason for her self-imposed isolation. And he certainly couldn't comprehend how she suddenly became Amelia's confidant upon her return. But there was a somberness in her demeanor that had been lacking when she was younger. It felt like she knew more than just Amelia's plans.
"Getting our armies back to Kytheras is the easy part," Amelia explained. "Defeating Neanthal remains our greatest obstacle in reclaiming our homeland. If the Ifta are right, then he cannot be killed by conventional means."
"And seeing as how he's also a demigod of sorts poses problems," Grace inserted.
"But we've finally settled on an idea to get rid of him," Amelia said.
"How?" Azzer asked.
"We're going to lock him away."
"Like seal him in Castle Tornis?" Azzer asked.
"Like seal him in another plane of existence," Grace clarified.
"How?" Azzer asked again, trying to grasp the intricacies of their plot.
"We only know of our world," Amelia said holding out one hand, "and the Bastion." She extended her other hand. "We will create a world in-between. And we'll send Neanthal there."
"You can do that?" Azzer couldn't help questioning her capabilities.
"With Hatswick's help," Amelia said.
"Magenine did something similar after the Early War," Grace stated, "according to the Ifta. She created a world beneath our own and locked the Beast there along with his armies."
"The Pit," Amelia said. "But Neanthal broke through and ended up here."
"So you're just copying Magenine's plans, whose existence you're taking for granted," Azzer said. "And also, whose plan did not work."
"She exists," Grace asserted.
Azzer had mixed feelings on the Goddess, and whether he believed in her depended mainly on his mood. "She failed."
"Did She?" Amelia responded. "Instead of resuming the war in the Bastion, Neanthal is forced to take on us."
"And he won," Azzer stated plainly.
"Temporarily."
Azzer gawked at the two mages. Maybe the stress had affected them as much as it had everyone else on the High Council. "You're literally about to do what Magenine supposedly did, which did not work."
"We're going to modify her plan," Amelia said. "Magenine never made an entrance or exit to the Pit because no one was supposed to enter or leave. We will make one in our plane."
"So we can visit the Corruption anytime we like?" Azzer replied with biting sarcasm.
"So he knows exactly how to try to escape. We'll have to seal it so he never can."
"You think this will work?" Azzer asked Grace.
"Yes," she bluntly replied.
"So you want to create a new plane, invade Kytheras, engage Neanthal, somehow send him to the new plane, and lock the exit you built into it so he can never escape?" Azzer laid out the specifics of their plan so he could better comprehend it.
"And you doubt it because you have a better plan?" Grace scoffed.
"You make it sound impossible," Amelia stated with dissatisfaction.
"You're not the Goddess and you're trying to best Her," Azzer replied.
"The Goddess lives within us," Amelia said, touching her own chest before pointing to his. "Our magic is Hers. Our plan is Hers."
"If you don't believe, you can stay here and get a darker tan," Grace said tartly.
Azzer snorted. Even after all his time on the beach, he hardly had a tan. Yet he was no longer interested in trying to get one. "I'm with you."
"Then I'm going to need two things from you," Amelia said. "I need you to make one last trip to Belliore. And I need you to survive this war."
Chapter Thirteen
Fusion Forest
Skiff Lette had been dead for less than two days and Loraya had barely thought about him since he'd sacrificed himself. The entire family should've been in mourning and shedding tears for their lost brother. Grief was the least that they owed him. His name was still to be carved in the tree of remembrance. A day of reminiscence had yet to be set.
There were, of course, plenty of distractions to blame for their inattention to traditions. As long as Kahar ruled Terrastream, there'd be more revolts to plan. And a trio of Kytherans had shown up and set them on a different course. This new path led them straight to the Roamers, a bunch of outsiders that had attracted Kahar’s attention and joined the Revolutionaries’ cause.
But of all the occurrences that had taken her mind off her brother, none had affected her like the first moment she saw Aros Asilias. Since then, she'd found it took twice as much effort to focus on anything that wasn't him. The goals of the Revolutionaries interested her less. Even her fury toward Kahar seemed to smolder. It felt like her life before mattered that much less, and she hated it.
Loraya had never had feelings like this stirring within, and she despised them for what they were doing to her. Not only had they driven Skiff from her head, but they weakened her. She was a warrior and a rebel, yet she could hardly concentrate lest she stood near Aros. Being around him at least restored some semblance of who she was. Yet the second they strayed from each other, she
became lost and helpless, which were even less familiar sensations.
She wanted to rid herself of all these emotions. They did not help her in any way. They were a hindrance; a weakness. If Aros went back to Kytheras, would they just go away? She was hoping that it'd be that easy.
Loraya glanced at Aros, who was walking alongside her. She knew there was no way that whatever he'd stirred up was going to fade without resistance. She was stuck with all she was feeling.
"We're moving slow." Kyer sidled up to his sister. "Might wanna consider making camp at sundown."
Loraya gazed at their party. There were too many of them and not enough trees to properly conceal themselves from the Hunters if they started sniffing around. "We keep going until we reach home."
Kyer's expression implied how he felt about that, but he fell back nevertheless.
"I wouldn't mind resting," Aros spoke up. "We didn't get many breaks in Belliore."
"What's Belliore like?" Loraya asked, less curious about the other kingdoms and more compelled to keep any conversation with him going.
"I'm not sure how to describe it," Aros said, scratching the back of his neck. "Imagine an entire city of box-like mountains built by humans. And then imagine metal birds that could take them anywhere they asked. That's kinda what it's like."
Loraya tried to picture Aros' descriptions, but could only see Valiant Keep and post birds in her head.
"Belliore's what it always was," M'dalla said, marching to Aros' side. "A city of scientists trying to show off." She flicked Aros' gold-clad shoulder. "Who else would make armor like this?"
Aros grabbed his shoulder like he could feel the infliction. "Hey!"
"Is Kytheras still a kingdom where they worship themselves?" Loraya asked, recalling an old saying that'd been passed down over the generations.
Aros held out the golden M hanging from his neck. "We worship Magenine."
"Goddess first, themselves second," Slythe said, moving up to Loraya's side.
"Do you worship nature?" M'dalla asked with a slight bitterness.
"Never did," Kyer answered, lining up beside her. "Though Kahar prefers we worship him."
"It's not a great idea to walk in a row like that!" Yayne called out from behind them. But no one was listening.
"Do you worship the sun?" Aros asked M'dalla, believing it to be a completely legitimate question.
"I never worshipped anything or anyone," M'dalla responded.
"You're Twilean?" Loraya asked, having never met anyone from the Twilight Islands.
M'dalla glared but didn't answer.
"And what are you?" Loraya asked, twisting her head toward Slythe.
"Same as him," Slythe replied, nodding at Aros.
"All we need is a Faun and we'd have all of Ghumai represented in the Revolutionaries," Kyer noted.
"Zeniri," Slythe whispered.
Loraya had heard them mention that name before.
"He'll be back," M'dalla assured her partner.
"Why didn't you go to the Islands?" Aros asked.
"I was in Belliore," M'dalla answered. "Remember?"
Loraya had never had much concern for the other kingdoms of Ghumai. She'd had dreams about them when she was younger, much as she'd have nightmares of Neanthal. But that's all they were to her. Terrastream was all that truly mattered. She'd never asked if there was a way to visit other lands. She never thought about who might be out there: men worse than Kahar, but also men like Aros.
"I'd like to see it," Loraya said, surprising even herself. "When this is all over."
"I'll get Rikki to take us," Aros suggested.
Loraya liked that he'd used the word "us."
"Good, because you're not borrowing my cloak," M'dalla said.
"What if I traded the armor for it?" Aros asked.
"Do you know who gave us these cloaks?" M'dalla responded.
"M'dalla!" Slythe interrupted.
"Who?" Loraya asked, growing curious.
"They won't say," Aros stated with disappointment.
Loraya did not like that these Roamers withheld information from her and her brothers. "There are no secrets amongst the Revolutionaries."
"Well, it's a good thing we're Roamers and not Revolutionaries, then," Slythe retorted.
"If you're with us, then you are Revolutionaries," Kyer stated.
Slythe shook his silver locks. "I know where this is going."
"You going to desert us to?" Loraya asked, inferring where this conversation would lead.
"That'd be ironic," M'dalla said. Slythe gave her a look, and she added, "But only I'd know why."
"If we're true allies, we shouldn't keep secrets," Yayne mumbled from behind them all.
The entire party came to a halt. Slythe was clearly displeased that all eyes were locked on to him like he was a potential threat. He fiddled with the sleeve of his cloak, like he was considering withdrawing his weapon. But his hands went still a minute later. "I'm not going to desert you. I'm going to check on the one that did desert you."
"That's not the worst idea," Aros replied, obviously concerned for his friend.
Loraya couldn't help but agree with him. "Then go, and help him get his mage back if you can."
Slythe's response was dripping with sarcasm. "So glad I have your permission."
M'dalla appeared less than delighted to hear that her partner was about to abandon her. "So you want me to stick with this lot?"
Slythe moved in on her and planted a kiss on her lips.
There were gasps from the few bystanders and Aros' face lit up red. Loraya squashed any urges to mimic the action and intentionally looked away from the scene.
"Watch their backs," Slythe said before spinning in place and shifting away.
M'dalla's face fell until she noticed all eyes were now on her. "Let's go." She turned and led them away.
"You'd think she knew where she was going," Kyer muttered in her ear before following after her.
Loraya grabbed Aros' arm and tugged him along. He didn't resist but gave her a funny look.
Loraya smiled in response before her eyes darted away. She wanted to use the bow around her shoulder to smack the uncontrollable giddiness from her face. She told herself to think of Skiff, whose face briefly passed in front of her eyes before Aros opened his mouth.
"Why do they call it Fusion Forest?"
Loraya didn't have an answer for him. Did there have to be a reason it was named that?
"You don't know?" M'dalla asked, her head turned back toward them.
"It's what it's always been called," Kyer responded.
"It wasn't always," M'dalla said, preparing a history lesson. "It was once known as Fairbright Forest, where no tree cast a shadow. But then a certain scientific enclave took root not too far from it. And these scientists claimed the forest and began manipulating the plant life within. The trees started growing in abnormal ways. The leaves grew wider, turned different colors. It was not the same place it'd been. And so, the name was changed."
Loraya had seen some of the odd growths in the forest, but she figured that they were just unusual, not unnatural. The Bellish had done that to the natural environment? It was abhorrent.
"If it's part of Belliore, why is it in Terrastream?" Aros asked.
"Streamers claimed it for their own during one of their expansion efforts before Aergo," M'dalla informed them.
"I can understand why my ancestors would want to save the trees from experimentation," Loraya said.
"Your ancestors wanted a lot more than that," M'dalla pointed back at her. "What tribe are you, anyway?"
"We're all Revolutionaries," Kyer answered for her.
"But before that?" M'dalla inquired.
"It doesn't matter," Loraya said. There were only two tribes now: those that sided with Kahar and those that didn't.
"Strange times," M'dalla said before turning away.
Loraya glanced at Aros, whose focus was on the way ahead. He stayed next to her even as the grou
p fell into more of a single file as they went on. There were only five of them left and the sun had begun to set. She could hear her brother stifle a yawn as they went on. It was no wonder he wanted to make camp. But they couldn't risk it if they wanted to stay together.
The sky’s beautiful shades of pink were overtaken by a deep purple as they marched. Conversations broke down to single syllables until there was little left to say. No one wanted to waste their remaining energy on words. It was for the best, since the kingdom became that much quieter and it would be easier for the Hunters to hear them.
Fireflies were all that lit their path, eventually. A couple landed on Aros' face, and he briefly panicked and tried to swat them away.
Loraya took his hand and plucked a firefly from midair. She placed it into his open palm. "They are our only light on cloudy nights. Treat them kindly."
Aros gawked at the insect and didn't try to crush it.
"Eyes in the brush," Kyer murmured.
"Human?" Yayne whispered back.
Loraya spotted the eyes her brother was mentioning watching from the east.
"Bobcat," Loraya replied, mildly relieved. She’d rather face an angry bobcat than a hunter.
"Dangerous?" Aros asked.
"It'll break its teeth on your armor," Kyer stated.
Loraya was used to wearing pelts and furs, but they had little utility in battle. If all the Revolutionaries had armor like Aros', they'd have a massive advantage over Kahar. Maybe if Rikki came back, they could take a trip to Belliore. It wouldn't make sense to wait if they needed what could only be found there.
As she considered how great an advantage the armor would provide, a familiar scent hit her nose. There was a fire going not too far away, and she could smell that there was meat cooking on it.
"Are we going to make supper?" Yayne asked.
Loraya's stomach grumbled. They'd gone too long without a proper meal. And the scraps they'd had on the journey home was hardly filling. She needed a generous stew to sate her hunger.
M'dalla froze up ahead and held her arms out. "Go no further."
For the first time in hours, Loraya left Aros' side and took up a place next to the Roamer. In the distance, she could make out the orange light of a growing blaze. But this was not some cooking fire. As they watched, it grew wider and brighter, consuming the trees of Fusion Forest.