The Year of the Lumin

by Andrew Ryan Henke

  Noir threw off the covers and put his feet on the floor. Remembering the pain from the dream, he looked down half expecting to see glass shards, and then at the oil lamp on the end table next to his bed. It was intact.

  He stepped onto the ground and limped to the door. The actions felt eerily similar to what had just happened moments before. He opened the door, limped quickly down the hall, and then knocked on Adeel's closed door.

  Her voice replied, “Yes? Come in.”

  Noir grabbed the cool door knob, twisted it, and pushed it in. He saw Adeel facing away from the door fixing her right pauldron onto her shoulder. The left one was on a table next to her. “What is it, Noir?” she asked without looking in his direction.

  Noir looked at the corner where he had just seen Adeel killed in his dream. A shudder ran through his body when he thought about that man's smile. “I had a dream.”

  “I'll say,” Ratt's sarcastic voice came from behind. “He clawed up my arm when I tried to wake him from it.” He was rubbing the red marks gingerly.

  Noir said to Adeel quietly, “Can we have him leave? I don't want him to hear about it.”

  Adeel said, “I agree. Out with you, Ratt. Go get ready to leave.”

  “Fine.” Ratt said as he left, “No one ever lets me in on anything.”

  Noir closed the door then sat down on a chair in the room. Adeel continued to put on her armor as he spoke. He told her all that had happened in the dream. After he was done, Adeel took a deep breath and sat on her bed. “This is not a good omen. There are some things about this dream that are strikingly correct, and others that are impossible. From what you said, it sounds exactly like that man was wielding both sye and din at the same time. However, that cannot be. No one in history has been able to use more than one vigor at a time. Also....”

  Elrid opened the door interrupting Adeel. “Luxin Adeel. We must be on our way. We are already late for our rendezvous with Ryojek. Is the boy alright?”

  Noir turned and said, “I think I will be fine.”

  “Good, then let's gather our things and go.” He turned and went back to their room. “I'm anxious to be done with this journey and back in my warm bed in Talik with my wife.”

  Adeel stood up from the bed. She walked to Noir and put a hand on his shoulder. “We will talk more about this on the road. Go get ready.”

  ~~~

  Kuli was fading in the distance and there was still no sign of Ryojek. Elrid expressed his concern with scanning eyes and occasional worried comments.

  After nearly an hour of travel, Elrid called, “I think I finally see Ryojek ahead.” A mounted figure rode toward them from around the side of a hill. He approached and relief could be seen in Elrid’s mannerisms. “You had us worried, friend,” he called out.

  Ryojek reined his horse in alongside Elrid, “You were late, so I scouted ahead a bit. I figured you would catch up eventually. The path seems clear. We should have no trouble.”

  Elrid said, “This is good news.”

  Ryojek then gave an impish grin to Elrid, “So, how was your night? Did you meet any pretty bar maids?” Elrid smiled and started to answer but he was cut off loudly by Ryojek. “I doubt it! I had a better chance of that out in the wilderness than you did in town!” The two gave loud laughs that echoed through the hills. Ryojek made another joke about Elrid’s wife that sent them into another rolling laugh. Elrid playfully reached over and slapped Ryojek on the back of his helmet. Noir thought to himself that he would never understand old people humor.

  The group traveled on. Ratt walked quietly alongside Noir's horse. Noir had offered the mount to him but he declined. The two young men talked and joked. Ratt talked about festivities in his home town: chasing girls at the Summer festival, climbing trees with friends. Noir told stories about his family but was careful not to mention anything that he didn't think would fit into this world.

  As they talked, the conversation turned more serious. Noir learned for the first time that Ratt had been living with his grandfather for the last few years. His father and mother inexplicably disappeared one day. With the threat of the town Din Mage over Ratt's head, the town council gave Ratt no time to wait for his parents. They sent him to work as a carpenter to fill his father's absent shoes. He worked in fear for over a year having no clue where his parents had gone. Finally everything just got to be too much and he escaped from the town. Few Tierians made it out due to guard towers around the villages and scouts in the wilderness. He said he was somewhat relieved when the men from Talik captured and put him in jail. If Tierians had found him first, it would have been much worse.

  By noon, the group left the road which was bending away from the mountains. The hills became rockier by the early afternoon. The route they took turned to sloping cliffs with long drops in places. Noir felt uneasy being up high on a horse with a cliff a few spans away, but he kept going nonetheless.

  Noir was thinking about his parents when it started. The next few moments of Noir's life seemed to happen in slow motion. From a hidden place higher on the cliff face, a pale, featureless creature crashed down on Elrid knocking him from his horse. The creature's long black claws were buried in the spaces between his armor. The creature made no sound, but Elrid shrieked hauntingly as his flesh was pierced. In an instant, the two were tumbling down the side of the mountain into the brush. Ryojek grabbed his shield and sword out of his saddle, called out a battle cry, and kicked his horse forward on the path.

  Adeel seemed suddenly very intent on the road ahead of them. Her abdomen was glowing faintly yellow as Noir had seen in his dream. She seemed poised and waiting for something. Ratt had crouched to the ground with his dagger in his hand, though he did not seem to have any ideas what to do with it.

  To Noir's right, the brush lower on the mountain suddenly moved and another creature sprung forth running on all four limbs. It galloped straight toward Noir and he panicked. A thousand different ideas ran through his mind, and his gut felt twisted. In his panic, he didn’t even think about his sword. He simply raised his arms in a futile effort to defend himself as the creature leapt up toward him on his saddle. Before the creature reached Noir, it slammed into an invisible barrier and fell back to the dirt path where it then struggled against an invisible force holding it down. A flow of yellow came from Adeel's abdomen, to her hand, then to the creature. Adeel quickly jumped from her horse and impaled the creature twice with her sword. It writhed for a moment and then was still.

  Noir could now make out multiple pale, hunched-over figures moving toward them on the path ahead. The creatures made hauntingly little sound; just the padding of their clawed hands and feet gripping the dirt. Adeel called to the others through gritted teeth. “Fall back!” Her words were lost to Ryojek who was already charging his horse forward, stirred to a rage by the attack on his companions.

  Adeel said some sort of curse under her breath, then leapt back on her horse and followed behind Ryojek. The charging figures ahead drew closer. Noir could now make out their shapes well. Blue veins could be seen under their taught, thin skin. The skin stretched over where their mouths, eyes, nose, and ears should have been. Noir had no idea the “straghs” that people talked about were so horrifying. They clambered forward in an unorganized clump.

  Ryojek and his horse plunged into the mass of straghs. His horse charged through them, trampling a couple under its hooves. Ryojek’s sword flew from side to side from one twisted monster to another. As he rode through the group, the straghs clawed wildly at horse and rider. Almost every time a claw came close, a plate of white transparent light would shimmer the instant a claw rebounded. He saw Adeel's hand raised, yellow light coming from it every time an attack was deflected. However, the protection was not perfect and long red scratches quickly appeared on Ryojek and his mount.

  Noir was shocked at the sight of his first battle. There was no triumphant music like in the movies he had seen. There were no picturesque shots of a hero conquering his enemy. There were only the terrifyi
ng claws of straghs and the realization that he and his friends were in true danger.

  Then suddenly Noir’s mind was no longer his own. The thoughts and will of another were in his head. He felt a mental struggle for the control of his limbs. He tried to somehow fight it, but the mental assailant dodged and twisted around his efforts. Then he lost control. Noir was still seeing through his eyes and hearing through his ears, but no muscles would respond to his command. “Hello, Noir, my little puppet,” a familiar voice pounded in his mind.

  Despite Noir's will, he climbed from his startled horse and saw his right arm move toward the sword sheathed in his belt. He tried to tense the muscles required for arm movement, but they did not respond. His hand grabbed the hilt and drew out the shining blade. Despite his efforts, Noir held it in front of him as his body turned toward Ratt. Ratt’s face was masked with confusion. “Your friends will die because you came here.” A mental scream was all that Noir could do as the blade thrust toward Ratt’s chest.

  Chapter 11

  Fafnir

  Ratt looked at Noir with confusion. His attention had been drawn from the battle ahead when he saw Noir’s body twitch violently for a moment. Now, his friend was slowly drawing his short sword and turning toward him.

  “What is he doing?” Ratt asked himself. Ratt saw Noir's face and it was plain and emotionless. “Has he gone mad?” Noir raised his blade toward Ratt. Ratt looked in his friend’s eyes and saw something unexpected. There was panic in them like he was fighting an unseen horrifying battle. Ratt then realized something truly frightening. “That Syeter must be controlling him!”

  The blade fell and Ratt scrambled to get the dagger in his hand up in time. His dagger rose up, but Noir's sword was coming faster. He was not going to block it in time.

  As Noir’s blade was to make contact with Ratt’s chest, a much swifter, larger blade broke the blow. The sword’s length ran up to the hilt of Noir’s blade and twisted skillfully. Noir’s grip on the blade was broken and it fell to the dirt with a clang.

  Elrid had clamored up from where he had fallen and was standing over Ratt, sword and shield in his hands. He was covered in dirt and had dark brownish blood on him in several places. Elrid was breathing with a wheezing noise, but somehow he still seemed powerful.

  Elrid quickly sheathed his blade and walked forward toward the disarmed Noir. He said amongst coughs, “Fight it, boy! A Syeter’s power can sometimes be,” he coughed loudly. When he spoke again, his voice was weaker. “Can be overthrown with willpower.”

  Noir took a step back and shook his head. Then he stood up straight and said in a cool tone, “Thank you. I am fine now.”

  “Good. I’m glad.” Elrid took a step closer to Noir, then took his shield and bashed the side of Noir’s head with it. Ratt could tell Elrid had not given the blow his full power, but the boy fell sideways to the ground nonetheless.

  After staring at the limp body for a moment, Ratt exclaimed, “What is going on!?”

  Elrid wheezed, “Noir was gone.” Elrid crouched down onto one knee and propped himself up on his shield. “The Syeter had complete control at that point.”

  Ratt watched as Elrid let out a spasm of coughs and then collapsed to the ground next to Noir’s limp body. Ratt crawled forward and shook both of his companions, but neither stirred.

  Ratt looked back toward the other straghs. Adeel and Ryojek seemed to have been surrounded by the straghs and could no longer be seen. Ratt suddenly felt very alone and exposed. His companions were either unconscious or gone, the horses had now all fled, and the remaining straghs had turned to him and were approaching. Pale, featureless faces bounded silently toward him. It would only be a few moments before they were upon him and the two limp bodies.

  Then a noise came that seemed to shake the very foundation of the mountain. The rocks and grass trembled from the sound and Ratt had to cover his ears with his hands. He dropped the dagger. The blade vibrated up and down on the dirt path from the deafening sound.

  When the noise stopped, the straghs had stopped as well. Their heads flailed around wildly trying to find the source of the sound. Ratt looked up in terror as well.

  Falling from the heavens was a massive white and gold lizard whose head was forward and all of its limbs were drawn in close to its body. The creature was headed directly toward the mob of straghs.

  A few seconds before impact, the dragon suddenly twisted its body so that its arms and legs were toward the ground. Huge sharp claws pointed downwards at the straghs. Just before it made contact, immense wings spread and made one huge flap to cushion its landing. The blast of wind knocked Ratt to the ground.

  Then the creature landed in the middle of the stragh group. The ground shook with the force of the huge creature. Dirt and stragh bodies flew away from where the dragon landed. Pale bodies landed limply on the path, or tumbled down the mountain side.

  A cloud of dust was rising over the scene. Straghs could be seen emerging from the dust fleeing in random directions. They no longer paid any mind to the three who had been their targets until moments earlier. After a series of thuds and loud growls, the scene started to quiet down.

  Ratt sat in disbelief and absolute awe at what he had just seen. He had heard stories and seen a couple pictures of dragons before, but nothing had prepared him for an in-person encounter.

  Ratt felt his head get oddly heavy, and then a black ring threatened to encase his vision. He vaguely comprehended that the large, pearl-white dragon had emerged from the cloud of dust and was now approaching him. The behemoth opened its mouth slightly and a voice emerged from deep within its throat. It was a booming , powerful voice, but it somehow had a hint of femininity in it. “Boy. Are you hurt?”

  The circles closed in on his vision entirely. He had the slight sense that he was falling before his mind shut off.

  ~~~

  Noir regained consciousness and noticed that his neck and limbs felt as though they had not moved in some time. He opened his eyes and blinked for a moment trying to make sense of what was around him. The ceiling above him was very high and made of polished rock. The rock looked natural like the ceiling of a large cavern. He looked around at the rest of the room and the walls had tall pillars of carved rock. He seemed to be off to the side of a large room. This part had two simple beds and a wooden table with two chairs.

  The chamber was lit by four large glow spheres set high up on the walls. Noir saw Adeel sitting on the cave floor with legs crossed near the center of the large room. Her armor was off which was something Noir rarely saw. She was talking to a tall, slender woman wearing a long white flowing gown with yellow accents along the trim. The woman looked young and beautiful while somehow at the same time old and wise. She stood over Adeel as if she were the teacher and Adeel the student. She turned and looked at Noir with a smile.

  Adeel noticed the woman’s look and looked over at Noir. Then she stood up from where she was sitting. When Noir tried to sit up, he felt a twitch of pain run through the left side of his head. It was not major, but it had a presence as he sat up.

  Adeel spoke in a calm tone, “Good morning Noir. How is that head of yours. I heard you took quite the wallop.”

  “What happened at the mountain pass? Where are the others?”

  “Ratt and Elrid are out gathering berries and hunting small game. You need to eat to regain your strength.”

  “What about Ryojek?”

  Adeel’s eyes fell to the cave floor. “He did not make it. Blinded by rage, the fool charged in. He was in too much for me to handle.” She motioned toward the other woman in the room. “Fafnir arrived in time to heal all of our wounds except Ryojek’s. She can do much, but she cannot revive the dead. We buried him beneath a set of stones near where he fell.”

  Noir did not know what to say. He had never had someone he knew pass away before. He also felt a feeling of guilt since Ryojek died defending him. Noir remembered the scarred man’s words. “Your friends and everyone will die because you came to
this world.” It suddenly felt hauntingly believable. Noir didn’t want to face that realization, so he looked at the other woman again. “Are you Fafnir? I saw a picture in The Three Vigors….” He trailed off.

  Then the woman spoke. Her voice was deep and breathy, with a smooth lilting tone. “Yes, Noir. I am Fafnir. I am in this form as to not alarm you when you woke up. I did not want you to further damage yourself from being startled. This form is a trick that I can do by manipulating light.” Fafnir strode over to where Noir was sitting so smoothly that it was as if she was hovering in her dress, not walking. “I can tell that your wounds have healed quickly in the last day. If time allows, it is always better to allow the body to heal itself rather than force it to heal with lux.”

  Noir put a hand to the side of his head. “How long have I been out? The last thing I remember is...” he paused and looked up, “losing control of myself.”

  Adeel answered, “You’ve been unconscious for nearly an entire day. And about what happened yesterday….”

  Fafnir interrupted Adeel with a gentle hand placed on her arm. “You were under the control of a powerful Syeter. I have sensed his presence often recently. I do not know why the Syeter chose to control you and not one of your companions. Perhaps they wanted to specifically read your mind.”

  “Nonetheless,” Adeel started, “we made it here to our destination. Though we were lucky that Fafnir arrived when she did.”

  “Luck, child?” Fafnir spoke calmly but firmly to Adeel, again reminding Noir of a teacher. “There is no luck. The winds of life brought me there at that moment.”

  Adeel bowed her head and started to say something, but she stopped when she heard a raucous noise coming from another part of the cavern. It was someone talking and laughing loudly.

  They all turned toward the noise to see Ratt and Elrid entering the large chamber. Ratt very proudly carried a dead rabbit by the ears. Fafnir walked away from Noir and Adeel to another side of the large room. Elrid unceremoniously set down the six that he had caught in the corner. When Ratt saw Noir awake, he exclaimed, “Hey! Good to see you awake again!” He placed the rabbit on the table and jogged over to Noir. “I’m surprised you ever woke up with the bash that Elrid gave you.”