by Rhys Thomas
“Thanks a bunch,” I murmured in acknowledgment. Drawing the claymore from my back; I had to be careful of those behind me. Feeling the flood of aether strengthening my body and limbs, I held the claymore with noticeable ease.
Channelling my will, I flooded the runes of my hands and arms with aether and pushed… Through the metal of my claymore, I felt the blade bent to my will as runic script began to emblazon the length of the blade. Burning an exact mirroring of my runes into the flat of the sword. I focused my will through them and used the sword as an anchoring point for my aetheric abilities.
There was more to do but before I could, the thicket exploded outwards as the other 5 thanes slammed through and out into the clearing next to the sixth.
They growled and stood to their full height, the tallest one being a head over the others. Our eyes met and I saw his narrow in challenge as they growled. I cracked my neck one way then the other, “well, what are you fucking waiting for!” I shouted at the thanes, I didn’t know if they understand me but from their barks and yips as they sprang into motion gave me my answer.
“Fan out,” I said to others and got readied as the thanes rushed us.
As soon as the nearest thane hopped onto the rocks to reach us, I swept out with my claymore in a large sweeping arc, swinging like I would a club. Cleaving into the shoulder of thane, I was stunned when the blade stopped dead in its tracks, and the thane yowled in pain flinching away off my sword and back down the mound to fall amongst the high grass.
I had expected to swipe right through it with ease, but apparently, they were far more resilient than I expected. Then another took its place, this one more cautious but also more daring. I watched as it’s intelligent brown eyes, flick about my person looking for an opening. It leapt forward twice, springing like a frog from one spot to the other.
I brought my claymore around to deliver an overhead chop, bringing the weighty blade down right as the thane landed. A split second before my blade hit and split it in two, the thane side stepped my attack and brushed out with his claws darting and slicing my arms, and then rushing forward to claw at my legs but I stepped back and dodged; weaving out of its reach.
The thane snarled a grin at me, and I had to give the fucker some grudging respect for its play. I cast a weary glance at my companions and saw Shre swinging her staff around to sweep out their legs and knock the thanes attacking her off the rise. Ilya weaved back and forth with her two opponents, darting in to deliver an attack and then retreating back. Emilia on the other hand was having issues, the biggest of the thanes was gaining on her. All the magic she cast like bolts of purple lightning, and missiles of ice seemingly dissipated when impacting the thane.
Shre must’ve seen the same as she called out in warning to Emilia, “thane’s are highly resistant to offensive magic.” I darted my attention back to my own opponent just as the thane lunge at me.
“Get the fuck off me!” I growled as it’s dugs it’s claws in my shoulders, it’s feet scraping at my stomach. Luckily my armour was holding up nicely, flinching my head to the left as the thane’s jaws snapped out to chew on my face. I managed to keep my claymore between us horizontally, but the close proximity was making it hard to fight back, and it was surprising strong. Its grip; firm enough that I found I couldn’t even break it; it was unnatural and abnormal.
“Well now,” I growled at the thane, my own teeth bared. “How about we stop this hug and cuddle session,” I said with a grin. The runes on my claymore glowed a jade green and blazing gold as fire wreathed up my swords length, the thanes beady eyes grew wide and frightened. I twisted the runic claymore in my hands and pushed against the thane, my sword seared and drove through it’s flesh like cream. It tried to scamper off me, but I was on it the instant it hit the ground. I my brought my claymore around and sliced through its legs leaving charred stump’s as the thanes feet tumbled to the side.
A screamed caught my attention as I followed the thane in its attempt to crawl away. Driving my sword down and through its spine and pinning it to the ground, I cast a look towards Emilia. The young witch was crawling backwards as bigger thane prowled towards her, Shade, Emilia now! I demanded of the wolf.
Acknowledgement came through the bond as an inky black portal swirled into being on the ground behind the thanes leg’s. Then Shade head snapped out in a bark, his jaws clenching around the thanes leg and tugging backwards with a vicious growl as the big thane swiped, trying to claw at Emilia.
The witch flung her hands back, forming a series of complex gestures in a matter of seconds then pushed her hands forward with a cry. A wave of ethereal force slammed into the thane and send the abomination stumbling backwards, but only for a few steps.
“These fucker are tough,” I murmured, retrieving my claymore from the dead thane. Shade jumped out partially from the black portal to swing his bulk around and drove the big thane into the portal with a shrieking howl.
“Alaric, behind you!” I heard Ilya shout and spun just in time to parry a striking claw from a thane missing it’s arm with a bloody cratered face. I brought my sword up and darted backwards as the thane landed and rolled to the side with a furious growl. Then a green pulse of energy bloom beneath the thanes feet and vine’s exploded chaotically outwards to restrain it. They coiled and oozed up its legs and the thane struggled to break free, but I was already slicing through the its head and cleaving the top part of the skull off.
I looked back and saw Shre walking over to me a smug grin spread across her face and her eyes slightly glowing. Ilya behind her, her own foes dead and decapitated. Emilia was breathing heavily and panting from where she stayed on the ground.
“I got two,” I said looking around with my detect foe sight but saw nothing hostile in the area.
“I got one,” Shre answered.
“I got two,” said Ilya sheathing her scimitar’s after wiping them clean on a rag from her pocket. She tossed the rag to me and I clean claymore the best I could, seeing the aetheric light on the sword slowly bleed away as they deactivated though the runes remained still.
“Shade got mine,” Emilia groaned.
“Anyone injured?” Shre asked us. We all shook our heads collectively. I wondered briefly if her healing only worked through sex and couldn’t stop myself from exploring that line of inquiry, the coy smirk she shot me showed that knew where my head was at.
“Let’s rest for a bit,” I said.
“Yes, rest…” Shre purred as she followed me over to sit on a stone.
“They hadn’t gone mad yet,” Ilya commented.
“Yeah, that was certainly unexpected,” Emilia noted. I nodded remembering the way the thane measured me up and searched for openings. Shade walked out a moment later, dragging the big thane’s corpse by its crunched and clawed head. Disgust, radiating clearly over the empathic bond.
The big wolf walked up beside Ilya nuzzled into her side. I smiled as the dark elf startled a bit; then hesitantly scratched at the wolf’s ears, though she did have to reach up a bit to do so. “Why are thanes resistant to magic?” I asked Shre.
The dryad looked at me, “only offensive magic,” she clarified. “I’m not – sure how I know that.”
“That’s okay,” I told her. “I was just wondering, because my own magic worked fine.” I watched her expression become troubled as she looked away. “Does anyone know where they came from?” I asked the rest.
“Nobody does. But they’ve only recently arrived, they’re with the Shi’en that much has been observed by the glen,” Emilia supplied with a tired frown. She sat up dusting off her hand’s on her robe, then swept her long platinum blonde hair over her shoulder. And Shade moved over to nuzzled her affectionately as well. “They’re not from Viria though, when Penelope ordered for one to be analysed, we found traits similar to that of the Craven’s.”
“The Craven’s. What’re they?” I asked intrigued.
“They’re foul witches,” Ilya said with a twist of distaste to her lips. The Mæli
c Redeye seemed utterly clean and fresh after the fight. In fact, I was certain I had never seen the dark elf dirty, not once.
Shre nodded turning to me, “it was back the early days of my youth. Glen’dal had just started to become a major faction other than the Valakhari, the Kashirans and Goldranos.”
Emilia cut in this time, “a witch of Glen’dal coven must undergo years of training, only then can she take the separation ritual. To split ourselves into two is how we hold to our immortality and morality. We separate the essence, so that our familiars make us uphold the foundation of our essence and through them a witch can grow in strength as long as she nurtures the bond she has formed through the separation.”
I nodded my understanding, though frankly I had no fucking clue what she talking about. “The Craven’s devour their own essence and through that they change, becoming tainted as the thanes are.” Emilia finished. I thought it all over for a moment.
“So, the Cravens are the opposite of the glen’s witches,” I said trying to simplify the whole thing down.
“Yes...” Emilia said with a small frown.
“And the thanes are similarly tainted, in the way that their curse or disease whatever it is, eats their... own essence,” I finished with a grin. A second of silence passed as Emilia and Ilya looked at me.
“Y-yes...” Emilia said with a sigh, whereas Ilya just snorted.
“Sorry Emilia,” I said apologetically. “This whole ritual ceremony and essence crap just goes in one ear and out the other with me. It’s most definitely not you, I’m just too new to it all, is all,” I reached out and squeezed her knee, feeling the smooth delicate skin of her leg. “We best get moving soon, we still got Grayson and his ilk to worry about after all.” I stood up looking at Ilya, “any chance you can teach me how to properly use this thing?” I asked throwing a thumb over my shoulder at the claymores hilt.
She smiled viciously, “of course. I’m actually surprised you managed to wield it so well as you did.”
“Wasn’t exactly hard, I just kept trying to hit them with it,” I grinned at the dark elf.
She pursed her lips, “though I must ask, why didn’t you just use your fire element on them from the get-go?”
I coughed, “I-uh, didn’t want to set the forest on fire?” I said, though it came out as a question.
“You got too caught up in the moment,” she surmised. I gave her a reluctant nod, “It happens, you’re growing more and more powerful as you go. Next time, if you can kill all the enemies before the fight begins, please do so.”
She patted my chest and I heard Shade growl at me in a laugh. “Oh, shut up,” I said to the dread wolf. Ilya chuckled and went over, stroking his big dumb head. Pleasure washed over the bond.
We started out again a few minutes later, as the thanes corpse had utterly no value, I bathed them in fire at Shres request. Something was changing in me, my powers working differently some sort of hidden mechanism slowly unlocking in my mind.
I had formed the runes on the claymore permanently but there was still something missing, something I hadn’t done or added to make the claymore a - bound sword?
We made the beach a few hours later and I guessed the time to be somewhere around midday or just before. “Where’s the boat?” I asked a small bead of dread churning in my gut.
“We buried it remember,” Ilya said to me.
“Oh yeah,” I replied sheepishly. Emilia walked down the beach toward the sea, her fingers splayed as she gestured her spell. I cut my link to the delve and a felt outrush of energy as aether surged through me for a brief instant, then it was gone. Cracking my neck, as I felt my body flood with a sense of ease and preternatural strength. The boat breached the sand a moment later.
I looked to Shre and saw that the dryad was looking backwards, her eye’s drifting over the terrain as she memorised every detail, eventually her gaze met mine and I saw the flickering of regret, sadness and longing war across her face.
I nodded my understanding an held her to my chest, “for so many long years this land has been my home. I’ve watched it rise and fall so many times I stopped counting. The people of Haroxi and Pyhronia are correct when they say that the Farland is the land of forgotten and ancient things...” She trailed.
“And you’re one of them,” I finished for her. Shre nodded her head, her wooden armour felt surprisingly strong and durable to my touch. I weaved my hand through her emerald green mane and heard her purr contentedly against me. “But you’re not alone anymore Shre,” I said softly.
The breeze and ocean spray the only sound we heard. “Alaric. We’re ready,” Ilya called to me. I took Shres’ hand and lead her to the jollyboat. She hopped in next to Emilia whom now had her twilight flower bud out in her lap. Once they were situated; I looked at Shade with a grimace, “I don’t how we’re going to do this buddy,” I told the wolf.
Shade tilted his head, then sunk into a portal that shot across the ground to join my own shadow. I felt a nudged over the empathic bond, that the wolf was telling me to proceed. I looked at Ilya and shrugged at her cocked eyebrow, “alright let’s-”
“Master they’re men’s walking onto the beach,” Shre called to me. I spun to see, nine men, all with various weapons. Their leader was a tall broad man in armour wielding a hammer and a great big fuck-off spiked armoured bear coming onto beach. We spotted each other and the same time, all I could to do was wave and them.
“Ilya, get in the boat!” I commanded the dark elf.
“But - what about-” she tried to ask.
“Get in the damn boat!” I shouted, she did; and I began pushing. The boat was surprisingly light, like I was moving a bag of sugar across a kitchen worktop. It cleaved through the sand with ease and then we were in the water. I crouched low and gave a heaving push on the boat propelling it towards the fog carpeting the sea.
The distance between me still on the beach and the women in the boat grew and I dove into the water with a splash, darting my eyes over my shoulder as I began to swim for the boat. Shots rang out, musket balls narrowly missing my head and a few slammed into my ribs and legs though none penetrated, and I wheezed as I pumped arms and legs furiously.
The bear was closing the distance fast and was already rocketing into the water by the time I was 2 metres away from the boat. It growled deeply then roared with annoyance as I reached the boat.
We were already in the fog when the shot’s stopped coming and the ladies helped to dragged over and aboard the jollyboat. I could still hear the bear groaning in frustration and the men calling to one another.
“You can keep running,” an authoritative gruff voice rang out, “but I’ll fine you.” Said who I presumed to be Vivik Grayson.
“Swell,” I mumbled laying my head back against Ilya shoulder. “Yes, he’s an unnaturally skilled tracker, similarly to a navigator.”
“Like the captain of the Naiad?” I asked the dark elf as she pushed my head off her and handed me both of the oar’s.
“Exactly, each navigator is different in their own right.” Ilya answered me.
“Alright, let’s just hope the Naiad is still there,” I said and began a steady weave of the oars, rowing the jollyboat hopefully back to the Naiad.
Interlude: Niflane Bella’agieve
Ice and frost, all encompassing. I could feel it in my bones, my mouth and eyes. It drowned out all sounds and smells and kept us within this sorry state. Watching as the passage of time sped by us. Just out of reach my sisters, those of the sightless order like me and just as frozen as I am.
Seconds became hours, hours became days, then weeks and months. Before I knew decades had passed by and sorrow filled me. Then the men came. Somehow able to ease through the great time freeze. I watched as these golden men took my people and even our enemies. Took them away and were never seen again. They were specific as well in there choosing. Even through my orders blindfold could I see their aura, red and vile, and it filled me with dread. Then they came again and again, taking w
omen and enslaving them. Using some as toys, before us still trapped in their frozen state.
Anger filled me and I felt the same aura spring up from my sisters, but we could do nothing. All we could do was wait.
Then our chance came in the form of a commander, his aura the strongest I had ever seen that touched everything within its reach. I quickly shielded my own drawing it inside of me, but a few of my sisters weren’t as fast and the commander took notice.
Then I saw a familiar face beside the commander, in chains and beaten yet still hardy. The strong and stubborn Zharrol Armsbane, an old friend. As soon as his eyes found my blinded ones, I knew we had hope.
But something sprung to the forefront of everyone’s attention, even the golden commander looked towards the immense power that washed over every single being here. It came from the south and I itch to spread my awareness that way. To know who this aura emanated from.
It was a regal gold and rich green and in its comforting warmth, I knew. If I could find this person, maybe, maybe I could convince them to save my people. Before too many of us were slaves.
The freeze began to lessen as soon as I finished the thought, my fox ears pricked up and my bushy white tail flicked out unfrozen.
Looking into Zharrols firm eyes and noticing the set of his jaw. I knew I would have my chance.
Chapter Seventeen
The fog that blanketed our approach of the continent was much thinner leaving in retreat of it. We all sat impatiently waiting to push out through it and out into the open sea.
The open sea part, scarring the ever-living shit out of me the most. The fog didn’t exactly help either as every now and then I would catch movement or odd shadows in the fog and water. Them it receded around us as we came out the other side, the sun now on a slow descent towards the horizon.