The Rokkaia Chronicles

by Rhys Thomas

  “I take it the survival rate, wasn’t particularly high for this method,” I commented.

  She nodded, “they weren’t. It was three for every ten people that survived the process. Four of those seven left dying would change, becoming corrupted as their bodies broke down from the gaara tainting them. After Zwericania’s complete ruin, the order tried these methods again, but the rates of survival dwindled further as the purity of the gaara used declined.”

  “I take it your tainted bearers are these failures of your orders recruitment plan- how wonderful,” I said cutting in.

  “Yes unfortunately, it is the orders greatest shame. More so than their failure to protect the royal bloodlines.”

  “And I have to prove myself to these people?” I asked a tad bit incredulous.

  “They’re not their forbearers,” she replied tersely. “The Matriarchs of today make only the willing recruits go through intensive training before introducing the gaara as a factor. Lives are still lost but the rates though small are still higher than they used to be,” she explained.

  “Is it really okay for you to be spilling these secrets?” I asked her.

  “We do not hide from our weakness but embrace it.” I was about to reply about how her people were in the middle of some civil strife for proper leadership, and that the Valakhari seem to be sitting with their thumbs up their asses when a shout came out from up ahead.

  My attention snapped to the disturbance ahead, as I threw out my other senses, several more shouts came.

  “What it is? Ambush?” I asked Ariana. She swung herself backwards and atop the wagons roof and scanned about. Her head swivelling back and forth, yet she gave no indication or sign of trouble.

  *Al are you seeing this?* Came Marisa’s voice in my mind, I shook my head and blink rapidly into our shared sight. Marisa was flying, her wings curving as she gently glided over the forest, her wings catching an up draft and she arched her wings to propel her body higher.

  Her gaze however was focused southwards on the far distant image of Bastion, it’s high walls and climbing roofs’ ascending like platforms on a one-sided pyramid. The burning thatch houses in the lower area’s and the broken walls, as massive fiery projectiles were flung by a naval ship just off the shore.

  We were too far away to properly hear anything, but I imagine the suddenness of the attack. The screams and wails of families; as fires and men stole their lives and livelihood. The naval ship was massive, with a huge and wide deck where stationary catapult’s and ballista’s fired upon Bastion. I couldn’t make out any proper discernible features to the ship, but on the foresail pointing our way, I could just about make out the insignia of a golden dragon’s head.

  It shimmered in the light of day and I heard both Hurallan and Ariana curse at the sight of it. “I take it that you both know who they are?” I asked them and pointed towards the ship.

  “Slavers’” Hurallan spat.

  “They’re the goldran slaver’s from Goldranos Dominion,” Ariana answered, her lips thinning at her words.

  “Goldranos? That’s the southern continent isn’t it?” I asked her.

  “Yes. The slavers’ work for the Dragon Tyrannos. The emperor of Goldranos Imperia,” She said.

  “Did he give himself that kind of name?” I asked incredulously with a cocked eyebrow.

  “They’ve not hit an actual mainland settlement though in a long time. They’re usually raid the north along the border of the Farland’s, as the Glen’dal coven are spread too thin to actually defeat them,” Hurallan commented.

  “They also never used to cross the Amberic Sea and raid my people, but they do now,” Ariana said in a hiss. I blinked away shared sight and sent a mental command for Marisa to return with Sishshik.

  Something didn’t feel right.

  “So, wait. Will they still be heading north along the coast after raiding Bastion?" I asked, as I felt myself growing more alarmed at how coincidental it all felt.

  “Yes, most likely. That’s one of the biggest slave galleys’ I’ve ever seen. If they’ve not raided before Bastion, they’ll likely head north towards the Farland’s,” Hurallan answered me.

  That made me think, “I thought nobody lived in the Farland’s?” I asked aloud. “Oh, they do. It’s just for those desperate enough and want to escape Haroxi,”

  “I hope they haven’t sent out any hounds,” I heard Ariana mutter quietly, her expression one of grim realisation and distress.

  “Dog’s?” I asked her and Hurallan flinched at my side.

  “Shit! Why didn’t I think of that. I need to go tell Byron and Bria,” the old man sprung off the wagon bench and sprinted for the lead wagons. I turned from watching him, to look at Ariana once again.

  *We’re almost back my Love,* came Marisa’s voice.

  “The dog’s Aria?” I prompted the scout to speak.

  “They stand higher and bulkier than the average building and have six legs. They can track most magical signatures from anywhere like a scent and have incredible endurance. They usually travel in packs of four, with a female at their lead. She’s generally bigger too.

  “Okay... but what—wait!” I gestured to her, “you mean they could detect a signature from say – the distance between us and Bastion?” She looked at me then and nodded slowly.

  “Well shit,” I muttered and felt the tell-tale whoosh of Marisa wings against my back as she settled on my shoulders.

  *She is right Al. If they’ve a pack on board, which is likely considering that they’re slavers. The hounds will pick up all three of our scents,* Marisa thought to me as she Sishshik climbed into the wagon.

  *Three?* I questioned back.

  *You, Ariana and I. They’ll follow us north if so, magic users are highly sort after, in terms of slavery that is.*

  *Gee, thanks,* I thought back dryly.

  Hurallan came back 5-minutes later, “we’re gonna try and make for the pass tomorrow evening. So, buckle in. We’ve hard riding ahead,” the old man fumbled into his seat cracking the reins. Ariana dropped off the roof and sat down beside me as Marisa transferred from me to Ariana.

  Evening came and went, and night settled over us, and still the Venyin pushed it. I heard a knock on the door behind me and looked back to see Sishshik peeking his head out. He chirruped at me and came out to join us on the bench sitting on my knee.

  We travelled for several more hours’ and were thankfully not accosted by any creatures of the night and started up the winding path that curved around the mountains base.

  Unfortunately for us though that was around the time when the snow fall began again and this time in earnest. “I can’t see a thing,” I shouted into Hurallan’s ear. I could feel Ariana shivering besides me, the three of us on the bench after I sent Marisa and Sishshik inside.

  “Ya won’t,” he shouted back. “The thadda have an incredible sense of smell, they can smell each other and the ground,” he said and fumbled at the scarf around his neck. We were all liberally covered in layers upon layers of fur. An hour later, the wind and the intensity of the snow was to the point that I wasn’t able to even see the thadda of Hurallans’ Wagon. Though I did see Hurallan’s hand drift to the left holding the reins’ as we followed the curve of the winding road.

  If it could be called that, I hadn’t actually seen it for a while. It seemed as if we were travelling amongst the clouds. A perpetual foggy white blanket surrounded us completely on all sides.

  We stopped come the early hours of the morning. Byron and Bria had managed to spot a recess in the mountain, along the road that was usually used as shelter during blizzards. The Venyin went about stoically corralling the thadda under a woollen canvas, as others set up cooking pots and cracked open the strongest warmest drinks they had as we sat in for what could be a long wait.

  ~*~ *~*~

  “Don’t I just will the shape?” I asked aloud, a small frown playing across my features. Soft laughter floated through my mind from the bond, I scowled at the Drag
onling. Marisa was lounging nearby on my cot. Ariana was napping peacefully beside Sishshik, her arms wrapped protectively around the small trog-child.

  “It’s a simple question,” I said a bit testily. We were all struggling with being cooped up in the same room. The condition’s outside had steadily grown worse over the last few hours, that even the Venyin had abandoned the idea of sitting around outside and drinking.

  *The power you wield is in fact a tangible thing. Your elemental control is yet another shape, like how clay can be moulded to form jugs. You’re not actually summoning fire, you’re summoning the very substance of its creation and then willing fire into your hands,* She explained, and I thought over her words.

  *So, kind of like the gas before the spark of ignition?*

  Hmm, kind of, I guess,* she replied.

  I really wanted to know what she meant by the substances of fire’s creation, but I was too tired to try. “If I’m really just willing this substance to hand, why haven’t we gotten to the other elements as well? Fire seems like an incredibly difficult first step if you ask me,” I asked instead.

  Marisa feathered head bobbed lightly, *fire is difficult because it can be the most destructive of the elements, it is chaotic if not tempered. Which is why you’re starting with it first,* she answered. *To fully understand the power, that you’ll be capable of wielding. Just know that elements are and will be the least of what you’ll be able to wield. Now I want you to summon your flames and go about trying to increase their size and then decrease them,* Marisa commanded me; and I started in on my training without a reply.

  Night came and went with me sitting in meditation as I shaped and willed the fire in my hands. At first the simple task of increasing the size of the flame was difficult. I had simply stared at my palm for several minutes, mentally berating the flame for not growing. Then I remembered that fire needed fuel to increase its capacity, and that fuel was the puddle of power custard within my delve. I sent a thread of will snaking down into that part of my self and channelled a further draw.

  Flexing my hand as if I was carrying something the size of my fist. The flame expanded to the size of a tennis ball. It’s flickering ethereal flame danced about a few inches off the palm of my hands.

  As I did this though, I felt a strange distant emptying like I was going hungry and missing a crave I had previously been unaware of. Each time I increased the size of the flame, the emptier I felt. When I cancelled my flames entirely, I noticed how some of the power dissipated into nothingness. I would need to be cautious on the power I expend, as some was lost in the exchange.

  Chapter Fourteen

  We moved on as the blizzard lessened, realising that we could be trapped there completely if we didn’t move as soon as possible. We’d completely missed making for the mountain passage with the weather steadily growing worse and worse. Then a day passed with us trudging along in the harsh climate, the chill ever creeping through the many protective layers we seemed to be wearing even indoors.

  I sat at the back of the wagon on the step, watching our rear. The weather had lightened a little for the past hour, making the road and area we climbed at least visible enough to know we weren’t far from the pass.

  A sound played along the wind. At first it was lone drone of a noise; too distant for me to fully make out, but when several other sounds drifted through the wind, discomfort crept through my runic bones.

  The sounds repeated, became more and more clearer and closer as the minutes went by. It was the sounds of howling dogs as they hounded their prey.

  “Hurallan!” I shouted loudly. Hopping off the step and sprinting around the side. “We’ve got a problem, I think?” I said unsure. I hadn’t actually seen them; the winds were icy nails digging deep into the bones and scars of my forearms.

  “What is it-” he began but a much closer howl cut him off. This one deep and rumbling, I could see the snowy layer of dusting tremble down the bank to our right. “Oh shit,” he muttered his hand clutching his chest.

  “They aren’t close yet, we’ve time,” Ariana said jumping off the wagon’s roof.

  “We don’t fight them,” said Bria as she slid to a halt and peered at the path behind us, a few more howling calls started, seeming to grow further in distance; then closer as they tapered off. “We make for the passage, it’s not far from here,” she explained and ran off back to the lead wagon.

  “Great, so we run and hope they don’t catch us before we enter this ‘passage,’” I shook my head. Sishshik popped his head out of the wagon to peer at me with worry in his big eyes, he chirruped, and I could understand the boys distress.

  10 stressful minutes passed as we wound ourselves around the mountain, “the passage should be coming into view soon,” Hurallan said, his hands out stretched as the thadda dragged us at a pounding run. The wagon jarred and shifted constantly as we bumped over small rocks or when a wheel rolled over a divot in the ground.

  The howling came again, this time closer. I could feel the vibration ripple up through the wood of the wagon and rattled through the material of my boots and clothing.

  “I don’t think we’ll make it in time,” I heard Ariana whisper as she leaned out to peer behind us. Up ahead the leading wagons were pushing hard for the mountain passage.

  *Marisa! I’m gonna need a quick course in how to throw a fireball,* I sent to Marisa.

  She responded immediately, *fine, though I advise against it. To throw fire, you simply must do the motions and then release your shape and will. Cut them from you. To blast a stream of fire, push your will outwards through the flame. Please don’t do this with your face in the vicinity.*

  *Alright got it, any ideas; on how to deal with these hounds, if that’s what they are,* I asked, climbing to my feet.

  *Hit them till they’re dead, and yes, they are. The magic coursing through us and Ariana are incredibly powerful, we’re practically a beacon to their senses.*

  *How can you tell?* I questioned and hopped to the lip of the wagon’s roof pulling myself up wobbly. “Stay down there,” I said to the scout, she nodded.

  *I can smell them, feel them. They’re tainted, similarly to that room we found back at the farmhouse.* The biggest beast I’d ever seen came sprinting around the bend yards behind us.

  “Oh. My. Fucking god,” I whispered hoarsely, my throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry. They were massive, and about 20 feet in length and 15 in height. Towering way over the ogre we had faced—well, Ariana and Marisa had faced.

  They were completely hairless except for a row of black spiky fur running from the base of their necks to the crown of their heads, reminding me of a hyena. Their powerful lumbering frames spoke of the muscles rippling beneath the oddly putrefying flesh, their skin was a dark velvet burgundy.

  Around their necks and covering their heads were a series of glowing gold bands, their massive jaws opening; and snapping shut in anticipation at having spotted their meal.

  Which happened to be me, there were three in total and I had the sneaky suspicion that none of these were the female. As they drew closer picking up the pace, their huffing and barking breath’s coming loudly across the distance.

  I was suddenly struck by the grey orbs they had for eyes, like the gems I’d seen in animals throughout Haroxi so far.

  The wagon jarred beneath my feet and I stumbled as the thadda realised that a predator was hot on its hoofs. “Keep it steady,” I shouted down to Hurallan.

  The three hounds split into a triangular approach, two rushing to either side and the third ready to pounce on the rear. Cupping my hands at my waist, I drew in a singular and distinct breath drawing on the power through my delve.

  Deep yellow and orange flames flickered into existence, and I drew further increasing their size. Seeing what I was doing, the rear hound bounced forward as if to ram the back of the wagon. I braced as it neared and brought my hands back, and then launch a damn fireball at it.

  Then another, and another. Two of the three im
pacted, the first blasting into its neck and the second skidding along the side of the hound’s body till it caught a rear leg. My third completely missed because the hound yelped as it’s body crashed down hard to the ground and flipped over.

  I had just enough time to dive onto my belly as a massive jaw snapped over the space from my left. I rolled over to my right summoning another flame into my hands to sweep across the wolfs head as it withdrew.

  I pushed outwards and sent a stream of fire sizzling along the side of its face, the smell of burnt flesh and fur caught me up in a choking gasp.

  “Alaric!” Ariana called to me.

  “Yeah!” I answered back in a shout as I tried not to gag. The hound on the wagons’ right side withdrew, trying to douse the fire creeping across its face.

  I caught sight of a black shafted blur flying towards it, then an arrow smacked into the centre of its forehead and the hound slumped over, dead. Shuffling to my feet and spawning twin balls of fire, I looked at the last of the hunting party. Just in time for the hound to slam the bulk of its body into the wagon’s side.

  The blow threw me, sending me sailing off the wagon’s roof and out over the perilously rocky bank of the mountain. “Oh shit!” I yelled in fright and thought quickly and frantically. Pushing my hands downward I tried to mirror Iron Man shooting twin jet streams of fire downwards’, trying to stabilize myself and get back onto the road. My arms began to quiver and tremble fiercely; and I could feel the immense drain this had on the bowl of power custard in my delve.

  I was running close to empty and I was ten feet out in the open air from the mountain road. To make matters worse the hound who had stumbled over from my fireballs was catching up.

  “Fucking. Wonderful,” I hissed out in an angered breath. Pushing further down and reaching deep into my delve to draw more, I shot forward slowly.

  The hound was closing in the for the spot I was going to land. When I and the hound were within five feet of my landing, I cut off both streams of fire, and dove for the ground as the hound skidded to where I was. I rolled over just barely avoiding the snapping jaw of the hound as it slid towards the edge.