The Reaper Realm: Threads of Compassion

by K. A. Lentz

  After a brief, unspoken exchange Tahlan and Kaiyssa came to a swift solution on the giant horror bearing down upon them. In unison the pair jumped from the tower, landing nimbly at its base, and headed toward the nearest trebuchet. Without pause Tahlan trotted up to an ammo crate resting in a cluster of siblings. Quickly locating the items for which he was looking, the steadfast elf dumped a large chunk of pure mithril ore into the waiting arms of an eager, on-looking mage. Reading the air with a few investigating sniffs, he hunted down another crate filled with various powders gently sparkling through its open top. Leaning into the wooden box, the elf hastily tested the aromas emanating from its contents and lithely plucked three powder balls from various peaks atop a mountain range of materials.

  Turning back to the mage still patiently laboring beneath a burden of unrefined mithril, Tahlan quickly broke each bundle over the rock in rapid succession. Completing the spell, he closed his eyes and placed both hands atop a mound of multi-colored powder. As the wood-elf concentrated on his ammo to be, small avalanches of rainbow sprinkles sparkled softly to the ground. Watching the elf’s every move, the unsuspecting mage almost dropped the nearly finished ammo as Tahlan’s hands began pulsing with static energy, washing over the ore’s surface in three, powerful waves.

  Kaiyssa was ready for her mate when he arrived. Loading the enchanted ammo in the trebuchet’s bucket, Tahlan barely jumped back in time to avoid Kaiyssa’s shot instantly fired after being placed. With hope he followed the enchanted ore as it glowed like a blue comet slowly arching toward its charging target. Thankfully the clueless golem didn’t look up, instead the bloodthirsty creature kept its bulbous eyes fixed on some poor soul waiting along the frontline. Kaiyssa’s aim was true, Tahlan’s enchanted ammo triumphantly struck the abomination directly in its chest. The charred golem was knocked backwards into the charging infantry and rolled over its comrades like a runaway boulder cutting a magnificently wide swath in the advancing offensive. Following suit, the other trebuchets concentrated fire on the troops detouring around the fleshy wreckage.

  Climbing around the massive machine as she turned various cranks and levers, Kaiyssa repositioned her trebuchet to fire at the onslaught’s newly forming spearhead. Tahlan swiftly returned to the ammo cart and began forming another round. Patiently waiting for him to finish, Kaiyssa diligently scanned the charge for her third target. It was in this moment she noticed four shadow-elf necromancers, astride animated exarches, gaining ground along the assault’s right flank.

  Kaiyssa knew that of all the threats bearing down on them, these four necromancers could do the most damage. One among them sensed the wood-elf’s watchful gaze and turned hard into the charge. The other three followed close behind, crushing members of their own charging infantry as they ducked into the uncaring mass for shelter. Kaiyssa watched a moment more, picking the spot she figured they hid within the assault. Looking down at the trebuchet’s ammo bucket, she noticed Tahlan had already loaded their next shot and was back at his station prepping another. Lacking a cloud of doubt within her calculating mind, Kaiyssa re-aimed the trebuchet at the necromancers and fired without hesitation. This time a small, golden sun raced over an ocean of troops now flooding the land between both fronts. Striking with the force of a small meteor, the large projectile sent a medley of debris in a geyserous jet from its point of impact. Confirming one shadow-elf kill, a mangled exarch sailed through the air moments before the area was engulfed in an expanding bubble of fire.

  First to exit the flames were three surviving necromancers. Close on the heels of their exarches flowed a tide of various undead animations blazing like torches as they ran undaunted toward the allied line. One exarch had lost a leg segment during the blast but its rider was still pushing the impervious creature hard to catch up. Diligently following Kaiyssa’s gaze, a nearby trebuchet operator fired just in front of Kaiyssa’s shot and took out the lagging necromancer. Fear forced the two remaining riders to drop back and once again cloak themselves within the plumes of dust kicked up by the frontline of charge. Kaiyssa’s fist struck the side of the trebuchet, a growl of frustration rumbling low within her throat. She jumped down and repositioned the weapon one final time.

  Again, a prepped shot sat waiting in the bucket, ready to be fired. Without pause she pulled the lever. Another blazing sun sailed through the growing cloud of dust, hazily illuminating its target on the far side. Midline on the enemy’s front, a large overgrown catapult sat lobbing inaccurate balls of volatile matter and energy. Without warning the siege engine was violently dislodged from its spot, shooting high into the air. Descending with a fiery hiss, the blazing catapult arched onto its active neighbor moments before they were both overcome by a growing firestorm. Joining Tahlan at the base of the trebuchet, Kaiyssa begrudgingly abdicated her siege engine to its original operator.

  Commander Aginaeus had given herself a task along with everyone else. Assuming the post of an injured man, she skillfully operated a scorpion along the bottom of the hill. Between shots Tahlan was suddenly at her side, motioning the commander to abandon her deadly weapon in favor of the direction he was pointing. Understanding straight off, Aginaeus broached no argument and left her station to speak with Tahlan’s waiting mate. Leaning in to be heard over the cacophony of battle, Kaiyssa gave the commander a quick account of the damage they had wrought and the deadly duo on its way. Aginaeus turned on her heel and called out a name. Akin to a magician’s hat trick, one painfully young squire popped out from behind a nearby munitions crate. Upon seeing the boy’s smudged face, she barked out another name and pointed to the sea of battle-ready warriors.

  Only a short time passed before the boy emerged from the throng with a large, dour-faced swordsman in tow. Dominus’s alacrity for battle was evident as he trotted up to his commanding officer, all the while taking liberal peeks over his shoulder at the ensuing battle. Waved on by a blatantly annoyed Aginaeus, Dominus stepped up to receive the orders he had been summoned to carry out. Megoth chose this inopportune moment to join the agitated ranks surrounding his elvish friends. Primed for a fight, the oversized warrior lifted his two, massive swords and started toward the griffon with a smile on his face. Kaiyssa swiftly sprung between them. Mildly annoyed by her interference, Dominus looked down into her pleading eyes and promptly lost all motivation. With a nod of understanding, he dropped both weapons harmlessly to each side and continued his wait for the approaching necromancers.

  It wasn’t long before the unwanted guests arrived at the party. Lacking their race’s signature cloak of shadow, both necromancers simultaneously crashed over a cluster of fighting infantry and into the support-line behind them. Creating a zone of mayhem, the deadly pair began hurling bolts of projected death at random targets in all directions. Commander Aginaeus and her eager warrior charged the enemy and adeptly forced them into a concentrated battle. Intent on assisting the two courageous humans, Tahlan relinquished his post back to its original operator and fearlessly ran toward the melee. Without warning the eager elf stopped in his tracks. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an awkward shadow slowly creeping along the edge of battle. Kaiyssa paused beside her mate and watched his deadly find.

  Shrouded in a protective haze of black fog, the stealthy figure tried to move unseen through inhospitable terrain. Watching the movements of this added shadow-elf, Tahlan realized the other two were simply meant to supply the third with a diversion. Why else would they drop their cloak of haze? Elvor’s warning flooded his mind, ‘shadow-elf minion after them.’ It has to be after… me, not my mate; why else would it attack my relatives—and not hers—shortly after my departure for the council’s quest? A plan began to formulate fast within Tahlan; draw this one into the fight and deal with the trio as a group. First, however, I must get Kaiyssa uphill to safety.

  Tahlan’s plan unwillingly echoed through to Kaiyssa’s mind as he raced for solutions. Pictures of worry magnified by an ocean of fear trickled through the dam he had created to conceal these des
perate emotions. Kaiyssa knew then what she had to do and it was simple; calm his fears by going where he bid her. Expecting a battle to stay by his side, Tahlan was relieved when his mind received her easy acceptance. With pictures captioned by a whisper, Kaiyssa reassured her mate, “I will go back to the trebuchet line, my love, find me there.”

  Tahlan kissed her forehead and watched as his mate headed to safety. Quickly turning to Megoth, he asked the agitated creature to go with her and protect Kaiyssa in his absence. Happy to guard his family’s cherished friend, the noble beast trailed close behind. His worries quelled, Tahlan headed off to help Dominus and Aginaeus still heavily entrenched in combat. Watching for barely a moment, the clever elf gauged his entry into the fray and then leapt in weapons drawn.

  Kaiyssa observed the scene from her spot uphill, weighing her options, as she dangled from the spindly lookout tower’s rickety railing. Megoth screeched his disapproval from just below her, clinging like a spider to one of the barbican’s support posts. In a flash she saw it again. The awkward shadow had gone a ground and was surfacing with haste through the pasty terrain as it circled around behind the five combatants. She tried to warn her mate, but his mind was occupied elsewhere as he dodged rapid blows from an animated exarch. Kaiyssa fed herself all the excuses she needed to slay caution and heed worry. Dropping down beside Megoth she leaned close to one white, cat-like ear and asked for assistance in defeating the shadow-elves. The head-strong griffon looked her in the eye and relayed in spirit the full conviction of his acceptance. Kaiyssa smiled. Without warning she sprung from her perch; hands together in a point over her head as she cut through the air between firing trebuchets. Megoth dropped into the skies beneath her. Atop the apex of the lithe elf’s jump, she tucked into a roll and landed nimbly upon the griffon’s back. A moment later the duo dove into the shelter of combat.

  Staying low to avoid unwanted attention, Megoth ducked through friend, foe and structure alike. Approaching their destination, Kaiyssa pressed her legs tight and readied to change course. Risking both their lives Megoth climbed high above the fighting crowd, stopping at a vantage point best suited to a siren’s needs. Sitting proud atop her hovering friend, Kaiyssa glanced down at Tahlan and closed her eyes with a steadying breath.

  Weaving her hands through an unseen tapestry of magic, Kaiyssa opened her delicate mouth and began to sing a haunting ballad boasting no words, simply elegant notes threaded with enchantment. Riding infectiously on the wind, her melody formed into tendrils of fog cascading onto the battlefield below. Being a young siren, lacking the necessary skills to fully command her energy, Kaiyssa was forced to invade the mind of every combatant regardless of loyalty. Without prejudice the enchantment wove into each soul, suppressing fear and drive while heightening contentment and joy.

  All at once the clamor of melee stopped within the spell’s epicenter, followed by a ripple of hush eerily flowing over the battlefield. Looking at each other with currents of levity tugging awkward smiles onto their confused faces, the combatants simply stood and regarded one another unable to fight. Only one below knew the source and possible cost of such an event. Tahlan’s expression was a contrasting mixture of understanding calm and determined worry. Coming to the end of her song, Kaiyssa leaned in close—holding tight—as Megoth enacted his part of the plan.

  Tucking both wings close, the deadly shrike dove into a free-fall toward his first target. Still subdued by the effects of Kaiyssa’s controlling song, the first necromancer failed to see the creature bearing down from above. With the speed of lightning, Megoth snatched up the unsuspecting shadow-elf and flew off with purpose in his flight. Allowing his prisoner time to grasp the gravity of its approaching end, the lanius griffon smugly hovered above a pike-barricade. Unable to fend off its avian adversary, the necromancer was helpless to stop its abrupt demise as the butcher-bird impaled his prey upon a waiting spike. Back in the fray, the shadow-elf’s battling exarch fell lifeless to the ground upon the death of its rider. Megoth rounded for seconds.

  Still clinging tightly to the griffon’s neck, Kaiyssa lifted her head above his and boomed out a simple melody comprised of three, forceful notes. Like a javelin the sounds shot toward the remaining threat; guided by magic to its target. Knocked to the ground from its rearing exarch, the shadow-elf had no ready defense for Dominus’s deadly slice. Standing over his felled opponent, the swordsman wasn’t given long to relish his victory before Megoth snatched up their enemy once more. Intent on displaying the prizes of the day, the lissome griffon swooped in and retrieved the dying necromancer. Dangling like a ragdoll from its executioner’s talons the limp shadow-elf broached no protest as it was thrust on a pike beside its deceased comrade. Landing atop his handwork, the proud griffon screeched a roar of triumph to claim his dead.

  Foiled by Kaiyssa’s song, and wary of the new element to its ambush, the last, unseen shadow-elf dug back into the earth and bided its time until the next opportunity presented itself. The wretched creature was not kept waiting. Taking shape behind the safety of reaper lines, a dire consequence to Kaiyssa’s aerial assistance began manifesting for all to see. Enjoying their brief moment of victory, the allied forces were soon standing in bewildered horror as they witnessed the formation of a spell not seen in over a millennium.

  Scrambling and running from the spell’s effects, reaper troops fled in all directions to form a wide circle at the heart of their ranks. Drawn up by an unseen force, chunks of rock danced and quaked along the ground beside slivers of gem and fragments of bone, caught in the same enchanted pull. Coalescing into two ruby pillars, a constant stream of materials flowed toward the ever growing giant. Feet incipiently took shape at the base of each crystalline column. A torso and arms quickly followed, ending in two feminine hands. Last to form was the construct’s head. Lodging a knot of dread in her throat, Kaiyssa stared into the face of her eighty-foot mirror image. Opening its eyes, the gemmed colossus leveled a stony gaze upon its target. Horror dominated Tahlan’s features as the reapers’ nightmarish creation began speaking with the voice of many, “Siren of the wood-elves, you have broken the balance of our frontline. Charged with disobedience to our laws, you shall suffer the consequences. Allied forces, I curse you to bear witness as we execute your hero. Kaiyssa Songweaver of the Moondance clan, may your sentence be carried out.”

  Without warning the giant elf abruptly dropped to its hands and knees while trembling in seeming agony. Still sitting atop Megoth, Kaiyssa watched in fear as the crystalline golem began dramatically changing into the manifestation of her death sentence. Hands were replaced by gleaming, diamond claws as the creature’s humanoid face started elongating into a more animalistic one. Simultaneously wings developed along each side of its gigantic, obsidian-scale body while gleaming horns curled toward the sky from atop of its menacing dragon-head. Silent and complete the imposing creature stared through emerald eyes at its intended victim far across the battlefield.

  Spreading its enormous wings the dragon thrust hard to take flight, each flap having a more devastating effect on its own frontline than the last. Troops—still fleeing from the creature’s creation—were sent sailing through the air in every direction. What few siege engines still stood soon rolled into one another as if tumbleweeds pushed about by high, desert winds. The allied line watched with a mixture of dread and awe as the scene unfolded before them. When the beast finally lifted into the air, the reaper’s field was littered with broken ghouls and dismembered zombies as well as heaps of unidentifiable parts and pieces. Still motionless beneath the earth, the stealthy shadow-elf eagerly waited.

  Tahlan was looking hard at his mate now, both passing pictures of plans and worries in a frantic stream from one to the other. Together they agreed; draw the colossus away from others and send the construct back to where its magic began, within the reaper’s private-lands. Kaiyssa would have to stay aboard Megoth… alone; he would only slow the pair down and she could not remain on the ground. Fear bordering on panic flowed o
ver Tahlan as he knew there was little he could do to save his mate from the trials to come. Bestowing a quick kiss on her love’s nose, Kaiyssa promised to keep her mind open throughout the fight and took to the skies once again.

  Aginaeus seized this rare opportunity and sent a legion of soldiers across the field, hoping to take the newly cleared frontline before nightfall. Stopping her prized warrior before he eagerly lead the charge, Commander Aginaeus pointed toward Tahlan and then to the approaching dragon. With a satisfied smile Dominus trotted after the single-minded elf resolutely sprinting uphill.

  It was then the lurking shadow-elf sprung at its unsuspecting target. Cursing himself for losing track of such a threat, Tahlan grabbed hard at the claw excruciatingly digging into the flesh of his calve. Thrusting another arm from beneath the soft earth at his victim’s feet, the fiendish creature started dragging the wood-elf under. Heralded by a series of powerful wing thrusts, the dragon’s expansive shadow abruptly cloaked the ground in near darkness as it passed overhead in pursuit of Kaiyssa. In the dim a faint green-light could be seen glowing from Tahlan’s normally ocean-blue eyes, but his confidence broke in a haze of unbearable pain and the light faded. As the sun returned overhead, Dominus was suddenly at Tahlan’s side catching hold of an assaulting arm relentlessly dragging his new ally under. The swordsman yanked hard at the shadow-elf’s hand, freeing it from Tahlan’s leg, before lobbing off the offending appendage in one, clean slice. Sounding from below their enemy howled in agony. Dominus and Tahlan caught the remaining arm before its owner had a chance to retreat and exhumed their quarry together. The wretched creature continued to wail as the swordsman coiled his arms around its shoulders and walked the thing toward a pair of mages camped uphill.